Creature Feature – Queen Conch
This week is the letter ‘Q’, and today’s featured creature is the Queen Conch.
Queen Conch are a large species of marine snail found in seagrass beds, sand flats, algal beds and rubble areas throughout the Caribbean Sea, the Florida Keys, and around Bermuda. They are characterised by their large whorl-shaped shell, which have been used as wind instruments for millennia.
Taxonomy
Scientific Name: Aliger gigas
Phylum: Mollusca
Order: Littorinimorpha
Family: Strombidae
Genus: Aliger
Queen Conch Fact File
Size: 12 inches, can weigh up to 5 pounds
Distribution: The Florida Keys, Bermuda and the Caribbean Sea
Diet: Algal and plant material
Behaviour: Long eye stalks and tube-like mouth can be pulled into the shell when threatened
IUCN Status: Not Classified, however listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)
