Florida Fighting Conch Facts

Strombus alatus commonly known as the florida fighting conch contains a small jagged spire at the top of the shell and about seven whorls.

Florida fighting conch facts. The shell is touched with white and sometimes has additional orange and purple markings. Strombus pugilis common names the fighting conch and the west indian fighting conch is a species of medium to large sea snail a marine gastropod mollusk in the family strombidae the true conchs. About seven whorls and a pointed spire form the body of the shell. Two stalks waved round in my direction and i suddenly realized i was looking into the beautiful eyes of a florida fighting conch.

It has between nine and 11 whorls on the protruding spire. The fighting conch can be found on all florida shorelines but they prefer sandy shallow water where wave action is minimal. Florida fighting conch strombus alatus the animal inside the shell is eaten either raw as in salads or cooked as in fritters chowders gumbos and burgers. Conchs are native to the coasts of the caribbean the florida keys the bahamas and bermuda.

The fighting conch strombus alatus is sometimes referred to as florida fighting conch to distinguish it from the west indian fighting conch strombus pugilis. The face of the florida fighting conch i was shocked and moved to see the face of this little creature. Before i came across this living mollusk i had collected an empty fighting conch shell while visiting sanibel island. Pugilis is similar in appearance to strombus alatus the florida fighting conch.

That s exactly the type of place i discovered this one. Their shell has a dark reddish brown often mottled with orange brown or having zigzag bars of color on the shiny parietal wall. Fighting conch snails can reach 7 10 cm 3 to 4 inches in length. In adults the expanding lip points outward rather than curving inward and the last whorl has a strong spiral sculpture on its surface.

I knelt down in the wet sand to peek under the edge of a knobby orange shell. In addition the key characters of florida fighting conch snails are relatively thin and pointed spinners compared to other strombus species. The front of the shell is designed with two curved edges. Strombus alatus is not listed in cites or on the iucn red list of threatened species.

Geographical range habitat and habits. The queen conch is a large edible sea snail a type of marine mollusk. It is sturdy and 3 4 inches tall. Inside a slimy looking gray marine snail was slowly moving its mysterious anatomy.

Very rarely the conch may produce a pearl. The shell of the queen conch or pink conch shell ranges in size from about six inches to 12 inches in length. In east asian cuisines the meat is often cut into thin slices and then steamed or stir fried.