April 10, 2022 Monthly Club Meeting
The Extraordinary Capabilities of Cone Snails – Dr. Tom Annesley
The cone snails are among the most beautiful mollusks found anywhere in the world. Their beauty, however, hides the fact that these slow-moving snails use harpoon-like tools and a potent venom mixture to capture their prey. These venoms can be as potent as a rattlesnake bite, scorpion sting, Gila monster bite, and poison dart frog combined. But like many things in nature, animals with bad reputations often have unrecognized redeeming qualities. So, can cone snails be both supervillains and superheroes? In this presentation, Tom Annesley will help you decide for yourself.
Tom Annesley is active professor emeritus at the University of Michigan, where he teaches scientific writing. He has published more than 200 scientific papers and presented over 180 invited lectures in 12 countries. He won a university teaching award the first year he was at the University of Michigan, a national education award in 2018, and an international education award in 2020.
Tom is past-president of the Sanibel-Captiva Shell Club and prior Scientific Chair of the Sanibel Shell Show. He spends much of his time volunteering at the Bailey Matthews National Shell Museum.
November 14, 2021 Monthly Club Meeting
Our monthly Sanibel Shell Club meeting on Nov 14, 2021 was conducted using Zoom and featured an interesting presentation by Dr. Gary Schmelz entitled “Strange Marine Creatures of The Bahamas.” If you missed the meeting or would like to see Gary’s presentation again, watch it on our Club’s YouTube channel or click the video below.
Thanks again to Phyllis Sharp who recorded and edited the presentation.
October 10, 2021 Monthly Club Meeting
The October 10, 2021 Shell Club meeting began at 2pm EDT via Zoom. After discussing club business and upcoming events, the featured speaker was José H. Leal, Ph.D., Science Director & Curator, Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum. His presentation called Cool Florida Shells introduced us to a selection of species of mollusks from the coasts of Florida and the Florida Keys.
Thanks to Phyllis Sharp who again graciously facilitated our Club’s Zoom meeting and recorded Dr. Leal’s presentation for us to watch.