Queen Conch

The Queen Conch (pronounced 'konk'), Strombus gigas (Linneas, ), is a true conch and the largest mollusk native to North America. It can grow to 15-31 cm, 6-12 in in length.

The Queen Conch lives in the wider Caribbean region including Mexico, southern Florida, and the Bahamas, north to Bermuda. It lives in seagrass meadows and on sandy substrate feeding on detritus, macroalgae, and epiphytes.

Other names for the Queen Conch include pink conch, caracol reina, caracol rosa, caracol rosado, caracol de pala, cobo, botuto, guarura, and lambi. The nacre of its shell blushes a sunrise of pink, yellow, peach and cream colors.

Taxonomy

The Queen Conch is currently classified in Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Mollusca, Class Gastropoda, Subclass Orthogastropoda (Ponder & Lindberg, 1996), Superorder Caenogastropoda (Cox, 1960), Infraorder Littorinimorpha (Golikov & Starobogatov, 1975), Superfamily Stromboidea (Rafinesque, 1815), Genus Strombus , Species gigas.

Due to this classification, it is a mollusk, a gastropod, and a snail.

Previously, it had been classifed as Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Mollusca, Class Gastropoda, Order Neotaenioglossa , Family Strombidae, Genus Strombus, Species gigas.

Historical Human Use

Classic Mayan art depicts what appears to be a Queen Conch being worn on the hands of boxers.

External Links

[Animal Diversity Web: Strombus gigas]