Florida Fighting Conch Shell

The florida fighting conch is a rather formidable looking snail with a very handsome golden caramel colored shell.

Florida fighting conch shell. The front of the shell is designed with two curved edges. Two stalks waved round in my direction and i suddenly realized i was looking into the beautiful eyes of a florida fighting conch. In addition the key characters of florida fighting conch snails are relatively thin and pointed spinners compared to other strombus species. I knelt down in the wet sand to peek under the edge of a knobby orange shell.

Inside a slimy looking gray marine snail was slowly moving its mysterious anatomy. In many species of the conch genus strombus the juven. Pugilis is similar in appearance to strombus alatus the florida fighting conch. Their shell has a dark reddish brown often mottled with orange brown or having zigzag bars of color on the shiny parietal wall.

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. Strombus alatus commonly known as the florida fighting conch contains a small jagged spire at the top of the shell and about seven whorls. The shell can be as large as 112 mm 4 4 in. About seven whorls and a pointed spire form the body of the shell.

The fighting conch can be found on all florida shorelines but they prefer sandy shallow water where wave action is minimal. These edges allow the eyestalks to look out from under the shell and become aware of its surroundings keeping the rest of its body safe. Fighting conch snails can reach 7 10 cm 3 to 4 inches in length. The florida fighting conch strombus alatus gmelin 1791 is one of southwest florida s best known and most abundant mollusks.

These florida fighting conchs are adults and are usually shipped around 3 inches or so. This species is closely similar to strombus pugilis the west indian fighting conch which has a more southerly range. This species requires express mail and does not qualify for free shipping. It is sturdy and 3 4 inches tall.

That s exactly the type of place i discovered this one. This conch occurs in the western atlantic ocean from north carolina to florida and the gulf of mexico louisiana texas and the east coast of mexico. The juvenile florida fighting conch shell supplementary image is more elegant more elongated is ornamented with a sculpture of strong spiral incised etched lines the texture of the adult shell is smooth and its coloration is always much lighter and delicate than that of the adult usually white with yellowish or light brown markings. So much could be said about that species but today i want to focus on some differences between the juvenile young and the adult shells.

Before i came across this living mollusk i had collected an empty fighting conch shell while visiting sanibel island.