''Lambis truncata'',
common name
In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...
the giant spider conch, is a
species of
sea snail
Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...
, a
marine
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
* Maritime (disambiguation)
* Marine art
* Marine biology
* Marine debris
* Marine habitats
* Marine life
* Marine pollution
Military
* ...
gastropod
The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda ().
This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...
mollusk in the
family Strombidae, the true conchs.
Subspecies
Subspecies of ''Lambis truncata'' include:
* ''Lambis truncata truncata'' (Humphrey, 1786)
* ''Lambis truncata sebae'' (Kiener, 1843)
''Lambis truncata truncata'' has a flat
apex, while the apex of ''Lambis truncata sebae'' is more pointed.
Description
''Lambis truncata'' is the largest and heaviest of spider shells, up to 40 cm.
''Lambis truncata'' is similar to ''
Lambis lambis
''Lambis lambis'', common name the spider conch, is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Strombidae, the true conchs.Lambis lambis (Linnaeus, 1758). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at htt ...
'' but with a more squarish outline.
Younger shells are creamy white;
columella and lip usually mauve brown when older.
Distribution
The distribution of ''Lambis truncata'' includes the
Indian Ocean off
Aldabra
Aldabra is the world's second-largest coral atoll, lying south-east of the continent of Africa. It is part of the Aldabra Group of islands in the Indian Ocean that are part of the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, with a distance of 1,120 k ...
,
Chagos,
Madagascar,
Mauritius,
Tanzania; the
Bay of Bengal and in the Pacific Ocean along the
Philippines.
Ecology
''Lambis truncata'' lives on rubble and coarse sand in shallow water.
References
This article incorporates CC-BY-SA-3.0 text from the reference.
* Dautzenberg, Ph. (1929). ''Mollusques testacés marins de Madagascar''. Faune des Colonies Francaises, Tome III
* Spry, J.F. (1961). ''The sea shells of Dar es Salaam: Gastropods''. Tanganyika Notes and Records 56
* Walls, J.G. (1980). ''Conchs, tibias and harps. A survey of the molluscan families Strombidae and Harpidae''. T.F.H. Publications Ltd, Hong Kong
External links
*
Animal Base
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1057050
Strombidae
Gastropods described in 1786