Curator’s Corner

Museum, research, and collection updates from Dr. José H. Leal, plus Shell of the Week, which highlights a different species every other Friday. Most Shells of the Week are found in Southwest Florida.

Dr. José H. Leal serves as the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium’s Science Director and Curator. He received his Ph.D. in Marine Biology and Fisheries from the University of Miami and has served at the Museum since 1996.

The Adams Miniature Cerith

The Adams Miniature Cerith, Seila adamsii (H.C. Lea, 1845), is a small gastropod not uncommon on the barrier islands of Southwest Florida. Its shell reaches 0.5 inch in length, and is slender, narrowly conical, with an elegant sculpture of three spiral cords. The shell color is orange to dark-brown. Despite its small size, Adams Miniature Ceriths are as handsome as some larger species. Casual beachcombers may walk the beaches for years and not notice them, but small shells and micromollusks repr

The Spiny Slipper Snail

The Spiny Slipper Snail, Bostrycapulus aculeatus (Gmelin, 1791), is the only local species of Slipper Snail (family Calyptraeidae) that displays distinctive sculptural features on its shell, in the form of scale-like spines, typically arranged along ribs that originate at the shell apex. The inch-long shell may be white, grayish, or brownish. As with other species of Slipper Snails, a shell septum separates the vital organs of the snail from its head and foot. The Spiny Slipper Snail, Bostrycapu

The Circular Chinese Hat

The Circular Chinese Hat, Calyptraea centralis (Conrad, 1841) is the least common among the local species of the Slipper Snail family Calyptraeidae. Its circular shell reaches about 0.5 in diameter; the apex on "top" of the shell is centrally located, and the shell "aperture" is represented by a sinuous (sigmoid), flaring shelf "under" the shell. The shell color is white or off-white, sometimes slightly translucent. As other members of the family, Circular Chinese Hats are filter-feeding marine

The Depressed Top Snail

The Depressed Top Snail, Calliostoma yucatecanum Dall, 1881 is a medium-sized (about 0.5 inch) species. Among the five local species of the family Calliostomatidae, the Depressed Top Snail is the one with the more depressed (wider in relation to the shell height, with a low spire) shell. The shell typically displays a sculpture of spiral cordlets, about 10–12 spiral on last whorl, 3–4 on periphery (the outer shell “rim”), 10 on base. The color is light brownish- or yellowish-cream, with large st

The Green Erato

The Green Erato, Hespererato maugeriae (J.E. Gray, 1832), is a species of the family Triviidae, a family also locally represented by the Coffee Bean Trivia, Niveria pediculus (Linnaeus, 1758) (this latter species was treated in this column three years ago). The Green Erato is a small species (about 0.2 inch), but one with a very attractive shell. The shell is pear-shaped, broader at the apex, tapering to a narrow, but blunt base. Outer lip thickened with tiny teeth. Color tan, yellowish, or gre

The Spiny Slipper Snail

The Spiny Slipper Snail, Bostrycapulus aculeatus (Gmelin, 1791), is the only local species of Slipper Snail (family Calyptraeidae) that displays distinctive sculptural features on its shell, in the form of scale-like spines, typically arranged along ribs that originate at the shell apex. The inch-long shell may be white, grayish, or brownish. As with other species of slipper snails, a shell septum separates the vital organs of the snail from its head and foot. The Spiny Slipper Snail, Bostrycapu

The Corrugate Jewel Box

The Corrugate Jewel Box, Chama congregata Conrad, 1833, resembles another local species of the Jewel Box family Chamidae, the Leafy Jewel Box, Chama macerophylla Gmelin, 1791. The Corrugate Jewel Box differs from this latter however, by its smaller size, never reaching more than 1.5 inch. The sculpture consists of corrugated radial ribs, while in the Leafy Jewel Box it is comprised of scale-like, “leafy” ornaments. Individuals of both species attach themselves to hard substrates by their bottom

The Spotted Slipper Snail

The Spotted Slipper Snail, Crepidula maculosa Conrad, 1846, is the most colorful species among the six local species of Slipper Snails (family Calyptraeidae). Slipper Snails are unusual in their feeding habits in that they are filter-feeding gastropods (filtering the water to retain micro-algae is the common type of feeding in bivalves, but rare among gastropods). The Spotted Slipper Snail may grow to about 1.5 inches, and has its white shell ornamented with brownish streaks and a pure white, sh

The Stout Tagelus

Last week I introduced the Purplish Tagelus, commenting that its characteristic spatula-shaped shell is similar only to that of its sister-species, the Stout Tagelus, Tagelus plebeius (Lightfoot, 1786). This latter species is a bit larger, reaching in excess of 2 inches (instead of 1.5 in the Purplish Tagelus), and lacks the purplish coloration of the other one. The Stout Tagelus, Tagelus plebeius, from Sanibel Island. Photo by José H. Leal. #StoutTagelus #Tagelusplebeius

The Purplish Tagelus

A species commonly found on the bay side of the local barrier islands, the Purplish Tagelus, Tagelus divisus (Spengler, 1794), reaches about 1.5 inches in shell length. With a spatula-shaped shell that is at least three times as long as it is wide, there is little chance for the casual collector to confuse this with any other local species. The exception is its sister species, the Stout Tagelus (which will be discussed in this column next week). The Purplish Tagelus differs from the Stout Tagelu