Florida Fighting Conch Shell

Two stalks waved round in my direction and i suddenly realized i was looking into the beautiful eyes of a florida fighting conch.

Florida fighting conch shell. In many species of the conch genus strombus the juven. The face of the florida fighting conch i was shocked and moved to see the face of this little creature. Inside a slimy looking gray marine snail was slowly moving its mysterious anatomy. It is sturdy and 3 4 inches tall.

Pugilis is similar in appearance to strombus alatus the florida fighting conch. 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. 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. This species is closely similar to strombus pugilis the west indian fighting conch which has a more southerly range.

The florida fighting conch is a rather formidable looking snail with a very handsome golden caramel colored shell. That s exactly the type of place i discovered this one. I knelt down in the wet sand to peek under the edge of a knobby orange shell. This species requires express mail and does not qualify for free shipping.

The fighting conch can be found on all florida shorelines but they prefer sandy shallow water where wave action is minimal. 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. The front of the shell is designed with two curved edges. The shell can be as large as 112 mm 4 4 in.

In addition the key characters of florida fighting conch snails are relatively thin and pointed spinners compared to other strombus species. About seven whorls and a pointed spire form the body of the shell. The florida fighting conch feeds through a trunk like mouth and eyes that are on long stalks and are individually movable making them an interesting creature to watch. Fighting conch snails can reach 7 10 cm 3 to 4 inches in length.

The shell is touched with white and sometimes has additional orange and purple markings. 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. 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.

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