A conch (pronounced in the U.S.A. as "konk" or "conch", IPA: /ˈkɒŋk/ or /ˈkɒŋtʃ/) [1] is one of a number of different species of medium-sized to large saltwater snails or their shells. For other uses, see Species (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Snail (disambiguation). ...

"True conchs" are marine gastropod mollusks in the family Strombidae, and the genus Strombus. Marine is an umbrella term for things relating to the ocean, as with marine biology, marine geology, and as a term for a navy, etc. ... Subclass Subclass Eogastropoda     Patellogastropoda Subclass Orthogastropoda   Superorder Cocculiniformia   Superorder Hot Vent Taxa     Neomphaolida   Superorder Vetigastropoda   Superorder Neritaemorphi     Neritopsina   Superorder Caenogastropoda     Architaenioglossa     Sorbeoconcha   Superorder Heterobranchia     Heterostropha     Opisthobranchia     Pulmonata The gastropods, or univalves, are the largest and most successful class of mollusks, with 60,000-75,000 species, and second largest class... Classes Caudofoveata Aplacophora Polyplacophora Monoplacophora Bivalvia Scaphopoda Gastropoda Cephalopoda † Rostroconchia The mollusks or molluscs are the large and diverse phylum Mollusca, which includes a variety of familiar creatures well-known for their decorative shells or as seafood. ... Genera See text Strombidea is a family of gastropod comprising the following genera: Lambis Röding, 1798 (nine known living species), Strombus Linné, 1758 (55 known living species), Terebellum Lamarck, 1799 (one known living species), Tibia Röding, 1798 (six known living species), and Varicospira Eames, 1952 (three known living...

The name conch however is often loosely applied in English-speaking countries to any very large sea snail shell which is pointed at both ends, i.e. a shell that has a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal. Because of this, various other species of large, marine (sometimes edible) shelled gastropods are also commonly called "conchs", for example: the crown conch Melongena species; the horse conch Pleuroploca gigantea; and the chank shell, Turbinella species. These other gastropods are not true conchs, and are classified in other taxonomic families. Penion cuvieranus cuvieranus, showing its siphonal canal to the left. ... Species See text. ... Pleuroploca gigantea is commonly called the Horse Conch and the Giant Band Shell. ... Taxonomy (from Greek ταξινομία from the words taxis = order and nomos = law) may refer to either a hierarchical classification of things, or the principles underlying the classification. ...

True conches

The true conch species within the genus Strombus vary in size from fairly small to very large. Several of the larger species such as Strombus gigas, the pink conch or queen conch, are economically important as food sources. Strombus gigas is also capable of producing (very rarely) a pink, gem quality pearl. For other uses, see Pearl (disambiguation). ...

At least 65 species of Strombidae are extant, and a much larger number of species exist only in the fossil record. Of the living species, most are in the Indo-Pacific Oceans. Six species live in the greater Caribbean region, including the Queen Conch, Strombus gigas, and the West Indian Fighting Conch, Strombus pugilis. In biology, extant taxon is commonly used in discussions of living and fossil species. ... This article is about the water body. ... For other meanings of Pacific, see Pacific (disambiguation). ... West Indies redirects here. ... Binomial name Strombus gigas Carolus Linnaeus, 1758 The Queen Conch (Strombus gigas) is a true conch and the largest mollusk native to North America. ...

Many species of conch, such as the Queen Conch, live on sandy bottoms among beds of sea grass in warm tropical waters.

Strombus gigas is included in Appendix II of the UNEP's CITES list of endangered species, and international trade is heavily restricted.[2] Klaus Töpfer, UNEP Exec. ... The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international agreement between Governments, drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of the World Conservation Union (IUCN). ... The Siberian Tiger is a subspecies of tiger that are critically endangered. ...

Anatomy

Florida Fighting Conch, Strombus alatus

Conches have spirally constructed shells. This spiral shell growth is usually dextral (right-handed) but on very rare occasions it can be sinistral (left-handed). Image File history File linksMetadata Strombus_alatus. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Strombus_alatus. ... Various seashells Danielle A shell is the hard, rigid outer covering, or integument, allanimals. ...

True conches have long eye stalks with colorful ring-marked eyes. The shell has a long and narrow aperture, and a short siphonal canal, with another indentation near the anterior end called a stromboid notch. This notch is where one of the two eye stalks protrudes from the shell. The animal also has a foot ending in a pointed, sickle-shaped, operculum. The animals grow a flared lip on their shells only upon reaching sexual maturity. Penion cuvieranus cuvieranus, showing its siphonal canal to the left. ... The operculum (plural : opercula or operculums) of gastropods is a corneous plate at the opening of the shell, attached dorsally to the foot. ... Sexual maturity is the age/stage when an organism can reproduce. ...

Conches have a characteristic leaping motion, using their pointed, sickle-shaped, horny operculum to propel themselves forward. They lay eggs in long, gelatinous strands. In most birds and reptiles, an egg (Latin ovum) is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. ...

Human use

Moche Conch Shell. 200 A.D. Larco Museum Collection Lima, Peru.

The animal inside the shell is eaten, either raw, as in salads, or cooked, as in fritters, chowders, gumbos, and burgers. In East Asian cuisines, the meat is often cut into thin slices and then steamed or stir-fried. In El Salvador, live conch is served in a cocktail of onion, tomato, cilantro, and lemon juice. Lemon juice is squeezed onto the cocktail, causing the conch to squirm, and then the whole thing is slurped down whole, as in the manner of oysters. Conch meat is also often confused with "Scungilli", which is more accurately whelk meats. All parts of the conch meat are edible. However, most people only find the white meat appetising. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Larco Museum (Spanish: ) is located in the Pueblo Libre District in Lima, Peru. ... Salad Platter Cold Meat Salad Decorated green salad Salad is a mixture of foods, usually including vegetables or fruits, often with a dressing or sauce, occasionally nuts or croutons and sometimes with the addition of meat, fish, pasta or cheese. ... An apple fritter Malaysian roadside fritters A fritter is any kind of food coated in batter and deep fried. ... For the Cartoon Network original show, see Chowder (TV series) New England clam chowder. ... A bowl of shrimp gumbo Gumbo is a spicy, hearty stew or soup, found typically in the states on the Gulf of Mexico in the United States, and very common in the southern part of Louisiana and the Lowcountry around Charleston, South Carolina. ... Steaming is cooking by steam. ... Stir frying (爆 bào) in a wok Stir frying is an English umbrella term used to describe two fast Chinese cooking techniques: chǎo (炒) and bào (爆). The term stir-fry was introduced into the English language by Buwei Yang Chao, in her book How to Cook and Eat in... A whelk is a large marine gastropod (snail) found in temperate waters. ...

Conch shells are sometimes used as decoration, as decorative planters, and in cameo making. In classic Mayan art, conches are shown being utilized in many ways including as paint and ink holders for elite scribes, as bugles or trumpets, and as hand weapons (held by combatants by inserting their hands in the aperture). The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped the sea and often depicted conch shells in their art. ^[1] Some American aborigonals used cylindrical conch columella beads as part of breastplates and other personal adornment. See Hair Pipes. 2002 Lincoln cent, obverse, proof with cameo Cameo is a method of carving, or an item of jewelry made in this manner. ... Maya art is considered by many to be the most sophisticated and beautiful of the ancient New World. ... The Moche civilization (alternately, the Mochica culture, Early Chimu, Pre-Chimu, Proto-Chimu, etc. ...

In popular folklore, it is believed that if one holds an open conch shell (or any other large marine snail shell) to the ear, the ocean can be heard. This phenomenon is caused by the resonant cavity of the shell producing a form of pink noise from the surrounding background ambience.^{[citation needed]} Pink noise spectrum Pink noise ( ), also known as 1/f noise or flicker noise, is a signal or process with a frequency spectrum such that the power spectral density is proportional to the reciprocal of the frequency. ...

In some Caribbean and African American cemeteries conch shells are placed on graves. (The Last Miles of the Way: African Homegoing Traditions, 1890-Present, edited by Elaine Nichols).

In some countries, cleaned Queen Conch (Strombus gigas) shells or polished fragments are sold, mainly to tourists, as souvenirs or in jewelry. Without a permit, however, export is a breach of CITES regulations and may lead to arrest [3]. This is most likely to occur on return to the tourist's home country while clearing customs. In the UK conch shells are the ninth most seized import. [4] A tourist boat travels the River Seine in Paris, France Tourism can be defined as the act of travel for the purpose of recreation, and the provision of services for this act. ... For other uses, see Souvenir (disambiguation). ... Jewelry (the American spelling; spelled jewellery in Commonwealth English) consists of ornamental devices worn by persons, typically made with gems and precious metals. ... The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international agreement between Governments, drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of the World Conservation Union (IUCN). ... Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting customs duties and for controlling the flow of animals and goods (including personal effects and hazardous items) in and out of a country. ...

Conch shells are occasionally used as a building material, either in place of bricks or as bulk for landfill.

Playing the conch shell as a musical instrument

A partially echoplexed Indian conch was featured prominently as the primary instrument depicting the extraterrestrial environment of the derelict spaceship in Jerry Goldsmith's score for the film Alien. Director Ridley Scott was so impressed by the eerie effect that he requested its use throughout the rest of the score, including the Main Title.^[2] Delay is an audio effect which records an input signal to an audio storage medium, and then plays it back after a period of time[1]. The delayed signal may either be played back multiple times, or played back into the recording again, to create the sound of a repeating... For other uses, see Space Jockey (disambiguation). ... The Derelict The Derelict is the name given to the abandoned alien spacecraft discovered by the crew of the deep space tug Nostromo in the 1979 science fiction film Alien. ... Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929 – July 21, 2004) was a famous American film score composer from Los Angeles, California. ... A film score is a set of musical compositions written to accompany a film. ... This article is about the first film in a series. ... Sir Ridley Scott (born November 30, 1937 in South Shields, South Tyneside) is a British film director and producer. ...

Religious symbolism of other conches

Hindu tradition

A Hindu priest blowing a ṣankh during a puja.

A ṣankh shell or Turbinella species in the family Turbinellidae is often referred to in the west as a conch shell, and this is a major Hindu article of prayer. It is used as a trumpet. Image File history File linksMetadata Hindu_priest_blowing_conch_during_punja. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Hindu_priest_blowing_conch_during_punja. ... A puja as performed in Ujjain during the Monsoon on the banks of the overflowing river Shipra. ... This article discusses the adherents of Hinduism. ...

The god of Preservation, Vishnu, is said to hold a special conch, Panchajanya, that represents life, as it has come out of life-giving waters. Vishnu (IAST , Devanagari ), (honorific: Sri Vishnu) also known as Narayana is the Supreme Being (i. ...

In the story of Dhruva the divine conch plays a special part. The warriors of ancient India would blow conch shells to announce battle, such as is famously represented in the beginning of the war of Kurukshetra in the Mahabharata, the famous Hindu epic. The conch shell is a deep part of Hindu symbolic and religious tradition. To this very day, many Hindus use the Indian conch trumpet made from a ṣankh as a part of their religious practices, blowing it during worship at specific points, accompanied by ceremonial bells. See also: Dakshinavarti Shankh Paris Flood Dhruva in Hindu mythology was the prince blessed to eternal existence and glory as the Pole Star (Dhruva Nakshatra in Sanskrit) by Lord Vishnu. ... For the film by Peter Brook, see The Mahabharata (1989 film). ... A Shalagram Sila (murthi) and a rare Dakshinavarti Lakshmi Shankh with 3 ridges visible in the conch cavity The Dakshinavarti Shankh, or Sri Lakshmi Shankh, is a sacred Hindu object otherwise known as the Conch shell with a reverse-turning spiral. ...

Buddhist tradition

Buddhism has also incorporated the conch shell into its symbolism. See: Buddhist symbolism. A statue of the Sakyamuni Buddha in Tawang Gompa, India. ... The eight-spoked Dharmacakra. ...

Literature

William Golding's Lord of the Flies features frequent references to "the Conch". In the book the conch is used as a trumpet to call everyone together and held by whoever is speaking at meetings, symbolically representing democracy and order. When a boulder released by Roger, Jack's lieutenant, smashes the conch, it is a sign that civilized order has collapsed and Jack's domination has begun. Sir William Gerald Golding (19 September 1911 – 19 June 1993) was a British novelist, poet and Nobel Prize for Literature laureate best known for his novel Lord of the Flies. ... For other uses, see Lord of the Flies (disambiguation). ...

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Category:Strombus

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Conch shell Image File history File links Conch_shell. ...

Demonstration of the sound of a conch shell

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References