Strombidae

Strombidae, commonly known as the true conchs, is a taxonomic family of medium-sized to very large sea snails in the superfamily Stromboidea, and the Epifamily Neostromboidae. The term true conchs, being a common name, does not have an exact meaning. It may generally refer to any of the Strombidae but sometimes is used more specifically to include only Strombus and Lambis. The family currently includes 26 extant, and 10 extinct genera. Strombid gastropods live mainly in tropical and subtropical waters. These animals are widespread in the Indo-West Pacific, where most species and genera occur. Nearly 40 of the living species that used to belong to the genus Strombus can be found in the Indo-Pacific region. They also occur in the eastern Pacific and Western Atlantic, and a single species can be found on the African Atlantic coast. Six species of strombids are found in the wider Caribbean region, including the queen conch Aliger gigas, the goliath conch Titanostrombus goliath, the hawk-wing conch Lobatus raninus, the rooster tail conch Aliger gallus, the milk conch Macrostrombus costatus, the West Indian fighting conch Strombus pugilis, and the Florida fighting conch Strombus alatus. Until recently, all of these species were placed in the genus Strombus, but now many species are being moved into new genera. Strombids have long eye stalks. The shell of a strombid has a long and narrow aperture and a siphonal canal. The shell margin has an indentation near the anterior end which accommodates one of the eye stalks. This indentation is called a strombid or stromboid notch. The stromboid notch may be more or less conspicuous, depending on the species. The shells of most species in this family grow a flared lip upon reaching sexual maturity. They lay eggs in long, gelatinous strands. The genera Strombus and Lambis have many similarities between them, both anatomical and reproductive, though their shells show some conspicuous differences.