Question: Regarding the common Florida Fighting Conch, I found some extremely similar ones while setting up my collection from bags of shells. The bag was labeled from Puerto Penasco, Sonora, Mexico on the Gulf of California's extreme north coast. Does anyone know if there is a Pacific relative of the Fla. Fighting Conch? Â Tom H
Hi Tom,
Yes, that would be Strombus gracilior  Sowerby, 1825.
Here are some pictures:
<a href="http://www.gastropods.com/0/Shell_1330.html" target="_blank"><!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.gastropods.com/0/Shell_1330.html">http://www.gastropods.com/0/Shell_1330.html</a><!-- m --></a>
<a href="http://www.jaxshells.org/graci.htm" target="_blank"><!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.jaxshells.org/graci.htm">http://www.jaxshells.org/graci.htm</a><!-- m --></a>
Thanks Paul. That's the one. You came through again! TH
Not sure where I found this one or what its common name is--perhaps found in the Fla. Panhandle. Does anyone know-Paul? TH
<img src="http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb123/TomHeimer/Unknown.jpg" alt="http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb123/TomHeimer/Unknown.jpg" style="border:0" />
Kind of fuzzy but appears to be Rhinoclavis vertagus (Linne, 1758), an abundant Indo-Pacific species.