Description: Triplofusus giganteus (Kiener, 1840) - Florida horse conch from Florida, USA. (apertural view) (public display, Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum, Sanibel Island, Florida, USA) The gastropods (snails & slugs) are a group of molluscs that occupy marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments. Most gastropods have a calcareous external shell (the snails). Some lack a shell completely, or have reduced internal shells (the slugs & sea slugs & pteropods). Most members of the Gastropoda are marine. Most marine snails are herbivores (algae grazers) or predators/carnivores. From museum signage: "Triplofusus giganteus (Kiener 1840) Horse conch This is the largest gastropod found in the USA and in the entire Atlantic Ocean. It may grow to be 60 cm (24 inches) long. In addition, its celebrity status is enhanced by the fact that it is the official Florida state shell. It can be found living on sand bars and shallow bay areas of Southwest Florida and vicinities. The horse conch is a top predator, feeding on other gastropods, such as lightning whelks, tulips, and fighting conchs." "This shell is the largest specimen on record of our own horse conch, a member of the Fasciolariidae family. It measures 606 mm, or about 24 inches. This world record shell was originally owned by Ed Hanley, who collected the specimen SCUBA diving at 37 km (about 20 miles) off Sanibel at a depth of 13 meters (about 40 feet)." Classification: Animalia, Mollusca, Gastropoda, Neogastropoda, Fasciolariidae Locality: offshore Sanibel Island, southwestern Florida, USA More info. at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triplofusus_giganteus. Date: 4 January 2016, 12:33. Source:
Triplofusus giganteus (Florida horse conch) (offshore Sanibel Island, Florida, USA). Author:
James St. John.
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