UPDATE: Shell museum to host next lecture in seasonal series
UPDATE: The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium on Sanibel reported that due to technical difficulties, the lecture has been rescheduled to Nov. 14 at 5:30 p.m.
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ORIGINAL (Oct. 16, 2024):
The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium on Sanibel is continuing with its seasonal lecture series, which is offered virtually via Zoom for free. The next lecture in the series will be:
– Oct. 17 at 5:30 p.m. on “Carrier Shells: Nature’s Original Shell Collector” with Gary Kidder, collections manager for Malacology and Inventory at the Houston Museum of Natural Science in Houston, Texas
Collecting shells may seem like a strictly human endeavor, but one group of gastropods has been doing this for almost 100 million years. Xenophoridae, commonly called carrier shells, is a family of marine gastropods known for modifying their shell design with objects found in their environment. While collecting objects is not completely an uncommon trait in the animal kingdom, these gastropods do it like no other. Kidder will discuss the general characteristics of carrier shells, their method of attachment and the possible reasons for this unique behavior.
At the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Kidder’s primary responsibilities include the management of the 1.5 million shells and other specimens in the collection and reporting on the overall status of the 2.5 million artifacts and specimens at the institution.
“Carrier shells are among the most visually striking and interesting groups of shells,” shell museum Executive Director Sam Ankerson said. “Gary’s expertise and presentation will shed new light on these wonders of nature.”
While the lectures are free, advance registration in required.
To register or for more information, visit ShellMuseum.org/online-lectures.
People can also watch recordings of previous lectures online.
The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium is at 3075 Sanibel-Captiva Road, Sanibel.