Strombus gracilior
Encyclopedia
Strombus gracilior, common name
s the Eastern Pacific Fighting Conch, or the Panama Fighting Conch, is a species
of medium to large sea snail
, a marine
gastropod mollusk in the family
Strombidae
, the true conch
s.
varies between 40 mm and 95 mm, the width may attain 50 mm. The high spire
is covered with subsutural spines or pointed nodes on the shoulder of the whorls
. The color of the shell is yellowish to yellowish-brown, interrupted in the middle with a lighter band. The aperture
and the large outer lip is white bordered with orange-brown. The shell is covered with a thin, horn-covered periostracum
.
The Fighting Conch (Strombus pugilis
) from the Caribbean Sea
and the Gulf of Mexico
is a similar species in the sculpture of the shell and in inner morphological characters.
s and offshore to 45 m in the Sea of Cortez along West Mexico and in the Pacific Ocean along Northern Peru
.
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
s the Eastern Pacific Fighting Conch, or the Panama Fighting Conch, is a species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of medium to large sea snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
, a marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
gastropod mollusk in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Strombidae
Strombidae
Strombidae, commonly known as the true conchs, is a taxonomic family of medium-sized to very large sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Stromboidea....
, the true conch
Conch
A conch is a common name which is applied to a number of different species of medium-sized to large sea snails or their shells, generally those which are large and have a high spire and a siphonal canal....
s.
Description
The length of the shellMollusc shell
The mollusc shell is typically a calcareous exoskeleton which encloses, supports and protects the soft parts of an animal in the phylum Mollusca, which includes snails, clams, tusk shells, and several other classes...
varies between 40 mm and 95 mm, the width may attain 50 mm. The high spire
Spire (mollusc)
A spire is a descriptive term for part of the coiled shell of mollusks. The word is a convenient aid in describing shells, but it does not refer to a very precise part of shell anatomy: the spire consists of all of the whorls except for the body whorl...
is covered with subsutural spines or pointed nodes on the shoulder of the whorls
Whorl (mollusc)
A whorl is a single, complete 360° revolution or turn in the spiral growth of a mollusc shell. A spiral configuration of the shell is found in of numerous gastropods, but it is also found in shelled cephalopods including Nautilus, Spirula and the large extinct subclass of cephalopods known as the...
. The color of the shell is yellowish to yellowish-brown, interrupted in the middle with a lighter band. The aperture
Aperture (mollusc)
The aperture is an opening in certain kinds of mollusc shells: it is the main opening of the shell, where part of the body of the animal emerges for locomotion, feeding, etc....
and the large outer lip is white bordered with orange-brown. The shell is covered with a thin, horn-covered periostracum
Periostracum
The periostracum is a thin organic coating or "skin" which is the outermost layer of the shell of many shelled animals, including mollusks and brachiopods. Among mollusks it is primarily seen in snails and clams, i.e. in bivalves and gastropods, but it is also found in cephalopods such as the...
.
The Fighting Conch (Strombus pugilis
Strombus pugilis
Strombus pugilis, common names the fighting conch, or 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....
) from the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
and the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
is a similar species in the sculpture of the shell and in inner morphological characters.
Distribution
This species is can be found on sandflats and lagoonLagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
s and offshore to 45 m in the Sea of Cortez along West Mexico and in the Pacific Ocean along Northern Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
.