Mollusca · mollusks

Queen conch

Aliger gigas

Strombidae · true conchsIUCN: Near Threatened
Queen conch
Photo: Jennifer Doerr, NOAA SEFSC Galveston · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · resized

An iconic Caribbean snail with a flared pink shell.

Fun factIt moves by hopping, vaulting itself forward with a sickle-shaped operculum.

Waters
Tropical Atlantic & Caribbean
Depth zone
Coastal shallows & estuaries, Coral reefs
Diet
Algae & detritus
Size
Shell up to 35 cm

Classification

Mollusca › Gastropoda › Littorinimorpha › Strombidae

  1. Kingdom Animalia animals
    • Many-celled organisms that eat other living things for energy (heterotrophs)
    • Cells have no cell walls
    • Most can move at some stage of life
  2. Clade Bilateria bilateral animals
    • Body has a left and right side that mirror each other (bilateral symmetry)
    • Head end with concentrated nerves; three tissue layers
    • Includes about 99% of all living animal species
  3. Clade Protostomia protostomes
    • In the embryo, the first opening usually becomes the mouth
    • Main nerve cord runs along the belly (ventral)
    • Includes mollusks, worms, and arthropods
  4. Clade Spiralia mollusks, worms & kin
    • Embryos usually divide in a spiral pattern (spiral cleavage)
    • Many have a swimming larva with a band of cilia (trochophore)
    • Includes mollusks and segmented worms
  5. Phylum Mollusca mollusks
    • Soft body with a muscular foot and a fold of tissue (mantle) that makes the shell
    • Most have a rasping, tongue-like ribbon of teeth (radula)
    • Includes snails, clams, octopuses, and chitons
  6. Class Gastropoda snails & slugs
    • Snails and slugs, most with a single, often coiled shell
    • Body twists 180 degrees during development (torsion)
    • Crawl on a broad muscular foot
  7. Subclass Caenogastropoda whelks, periwinkles & kin
    • Most have a single gill and a shell door (operculum)
    • Many have a siphon to sample water
    • Includes periwinkles, whelks, and conchs
  8. Order Littorinimorpha periwinkles, conchs & kin
    • Large, varied group including periwinkles, conchs, and moon snails
    • Many graze algae; some drill or filter-feed
  9. Family Strombidae true conchs
    • True conchs with a flared outer lip
    • Move by hopping with a blade-shaped shell door
  10. Genus Aliger
    • Species in the same genus are very close relatives and often look alike.
  11. Species Aliger gigas Queen conch

Closest relatives in the guide