Strombus is a genus of medium to large sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Strombidae, which comprises the true conchs and their immediate relatives. The genus Strombus was named by Swedish Naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Around 50 living species were recognized, which vary in size from fairly small to very large. Six species live in the greater Caribbean region, including the queen conch, Strombus gigas (now usually known as Eustrombus gigas or Lobatus gigas or Aliger gigas), and the West Indian fighting conch, Strombus pugilis. However, since 2006, many species have been assigned to discrete genera. Fossils of species within this genus have been found all over the world in sediments from Cretaceous to Quaternary (age range: 140.2 million years ago to recent).
Of the living species, most are in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Many species of true conchs live on sandy bottoms among beds of sea grass in tropical waters. They eat algae and have a claw-shaped operculum.
Description
Anatomy
thumb|left|250px|Live animal of the Florida fighting conch [[Strombus alatus: Note the extensible snout in the foreground, and the two stalked eyes behind it.]]
Like almost all shelled gastropods, conches have spirally constructed shells. Again, as is normally the case in many gastropods, this spiral shell growth is usually right-handed, but on very rare occasions it can be left-handed.
True conches have long eye stalks, with colorful ring-marked eyes at the tips. The shell has a long and narrow aperture, and a short siphonal canal, with another indentation near the anterior end called a stromboid notch. This notch is where one of the two eye stalks protrudes from the shell.
The true conch has a foot ending in a pointed, sickle-shaped, operculum, which can be dug into the substrate as part of an unusual "leaping" locomotion.
True conches grow a flared lip on their shells only upon reaching sexual maturity. This is called an alated outer lip or alation.
Conches lay eggs in long strands; the eggs are contained in twisted, gelatinous tubes. Strombus moves with a leaping motion.
Shell description
Strombus shells have a flaring outer lip with a notch near the anterior end called the stromboid notch through which the animal can protrude one of its stalked eyes.
Phylogeny
<div>