Pink conch shell from Bahamas islands, 25 cm, 1220 g

Size: 10 inches x 8 inches = 25 cm x 20 cm;

Weight: 2 lb. 11 oz. = 1220 g = 1 kg 220 g;

 Interesting Facts:

– Conchs are native to the coasts of the Caribbean, the Florida Keys, the Bahamas, and Bermuda.

– The conch’s main predators include loggerhead turtles, nurse sharks, other snail species, blue crabs, eagle rays, spiny lobsters, and other crustaceans.

– During the first year of life, conchs live under the sand during the day and come out to feed on the surface of the sand at night.

– Conchs are herbivores—they eat algae and other tiny marine plants.

– It may take a queen conch at least 5 years to reach maturity—growing up to a maximum of 12 inches long and 5 pounds.

– The adult conch has a large, solid and heavy shell, with knob-like spines on the shoulder, a flared thick, outer lip and characteristic pink/orange colored opening.

– The Queen conch is a long-living species, with an estimated lifespan up to 40 years.

– Conchs produce natural pearls in hues of white, brown, orange, and pink.

– Only grown conch should be caught.

– When you listen through a conch shell it’s not the sound of the ocean you hear but the sound of blood rushing through the veins in your head.

-Conch shells can be used as wind instruments. They are prepared by cutting a hole in the spire of the shell near the apex and then blowing into the shell as if it were a trumpet, as a blowing horn. Sometimes a mouthpiece is used, but some shell trumpets are blown without one. Pitch is adjusted by moving one's hand in and out of the aperture; the deeper the hand, the lower the note.

Various species of large marine gastropod shells can be turned into blowing shells, but some of the best-known species used are the sacred chank or shankha Turbinella pyrum, the Triton's trumpet Charonia tritonis, and the queen conch Strombus gigas.