Giant Spider Conch

Lambis truncata, common name the giant spider conch, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Strombidae, the true conchs.^[1]

Subspecies

A shell of Lambis truncata truncata

A shell of Lambis truncata sebae

Subspecies of Lambis truncata include:

• Lambis truncata truncata (Humphrey, 1786)^[1]
• Lambis truncata sebae (Kiener, 1843)^[1]

Lambis truncata truncata has a flat apex, while the apex of Lambis truncata sebae is more pointed.

Description

A colored drawing of Lambis truncata from Kiener, 1843, depicting both the shell and soft parts

Lambis truncata is the largest and heaviest of spider shells, up to 40 cm.^[1] Lambis truncata is similar to Lambis lambis but with a more squarish outline.^[1] Younger shells are creamy white; columella and lip usually mauve brown when older.^[1]

Distribution

The distribution of Lambis truncata includes the Indian Ocean off ^[1] Aldabra, 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.^[1]

References

This article incorporates CC-BY-SA-3.0 text from the reference.^[1]

• 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