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 Atlantic Nut Clam

The Atlantic Nut Clam, Nucula proxima Say, 1822, lives locally on muddy-sand bottoms. Most bivalves (Clams, Mussels, Oysters, etc.) are filter-feeders, “sieving” the water to collect their microscopic food (microalgae and other forms of phytoplankton). Nut Clams (family Nuculidae), on the other hand, are deposit-feeding bivalves, scooping up the film of decomposing organic matter and bacteria that accumulates on the surface of the sea floor. They do so using tentacle-like structures called labia

The Bruised Nassa

The Bruised Nassa, Nassarius vibex (Say, 1822), is a denizen of the mud flats and back-bays of Southwest Florida and other areas of the tropical western Atlantic. Its shell, measuring about 0.5 inch, is extremely variable, but typical of the species is the relatively broad shield that surrounds the shell opening, or aperture. Bruised Nassas are scavengers, feeding on the decaying corpses of other marine animals, including fish, horse crabs, crabs and other crustaceans, to name just a few. [The s

The Common Atlantic Slipper Snail

The Common Atlantic Slipper Snail, Crepidula fornicata (Linnaeus, 1758), is one of the most common gastropod shells found on the beaches of Sanibel and Captiva. Slipper Snails (family Calyptraeidae) have shells that resemble limpets, but can be distinguished from these latter by the internal “deck” or “shelf” that houses the bulk of the snail’s organs, and the “twisted” shell apex. Unlike most gastropods, Slipper Snails are suspension feeders, scooping-up plankton and other materials in suspensi

The Atlantic Carrier Snail

The Atlantic Carrier Snail, Xenophora conchyliophora (Born, 1780), is a moderately rare species in the barrier islands of Southwest Florida. Almost all members of the Carrier Snail family Xenophoridae have the ability to cement other shells, shell fragments, worm tubes, corals, and even little pebbles to their own shells. They hold the object to be cemented in place with their foot, then proceed to secrete shell material to affix the object permanently to their own shell edge. Some species speci

The Fargo Worm Snail

The Fargo Worm Snail, Vermicularia fargoi Olsson, 1951, is a gastropod with a shell that starts regularly coiled until it is about an inch long. From then on, the shell then becomes uncoiled, acquiring its typical, irregular shape. The shell “tube” is about 3/8” in diameter. Shells of the Fargo Worm Snail are fairly common along the beaches of Southwest Florida, and so are those of a close living relative previously portrayed in this column, the Florida Worm Snail, Vermicularia knorrii (Deshaye

The Atlantic Petricolid

The Atlantic Petricolid, Choristodon robustus (G.B. Sowerby I, 1834), is an inch-long clam belonging to the Venus Clam family Veneridae. The species is found from North Carolina to Brazil. Shells of other members of the Venus Clam family, such as the Southern Quahog, the Sunray Venus, and the Cross-barred Venus, to name a few, are commonly found along the beaches and bays of Southwest Florida. This is not the case with the shells of the Atlantic Petricolid: the species is present in the area, bu

The Sunray Venus Clam

The Sunray Venus Clam, Macrocallista nimbosa (Lightfoot, 1786), is one of the most attractive members of a very diverse family of bivalve mollusks, the Veneridae. Sunray Venus Clams have shells that vary in color from salmon-pink to brown to grayish-blue. The “Sunray” pattern on the valves is always asymmetrical, i.e, one valve is not a mirror image of the other. A prized shellfish item, the species is being farmed in captivity in parts of Southwest Florida, including Pine Island in Lee County.

The Little Dove Strawberry Cockle

The Little Dove Strawberry Cockle, Americardia columbella H.G. Lee & M. Huber, 2012, is a moderately rare species of the family Cardiidae found in the Gulf of Mexico and along the coasts of Southwest Florida. Its shell has a more triangular shape in relation to other local cockles, and the “pinched” aspect (caused by the presence of a posterior groove, or sulcus) sets it apart from its closest relatives in the genus Americardia. Dr. Harry G. Lee, from Jacksonville, Florida, a past National Shell

The Atlantic Giant Cockle

The Atlantic Giant Cockle, Dinocardium robustum (Lightfoot, 1786), is one of the largest shallow-water bivalves found in the Gulf of Mexico, reaching about 125 mm (6 inches). It is one among eight species of the family Cardiidae present along the shores of Southwest Florida. Its shell is characterized by smooth, rounded radial ribs, usually numbering between 30 and 40 in adult individuals. As it often happens with other species of the family Cardiidae, Atlantic Giant Cockles use their muscular

The Florida Prickly Cockle

The Florida Prickly Cockle, Trachycardium egmontianum (Shuttleworth, 1856), is one of the most commonly found bivalves along the shores of Southwest Florida. Its common name originates from the spiny projections distributed along radial (oriented from the “beak” to the edge) ribs. As other species of cockles do, Florida Prickly Cockles use their foot as a “pole vault” or lever to propel themselves away from threatening predators such as Apple and Lace Murexes. Almost pure white shells, known as