What is Conch?
{{Taxobox | name = Conch | image= Conch shell 2.jpg | image_width = 250px | image_caption = An adult Queen Conch shell | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Mollusca]] | classis = [[Gastropoda]] | superordo = [[Caenogastropoda]] | ordo = [[Sorbeoconcha]] | subordo = [[Hypsogastropoda]] | infraordo = [[Littorinimorpha]] | superfamilia = [[Stromboidea]] | familia = [[Strombidae]] | genus = '''''Strombus''''' | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = ''[[Strombus gigas]]''<br> ''[[Strombus pugilis]]'' }} A '''conch''' is a [[sea]]-dwelling [[mollusc]]. It is a marine [[gastropod]]. The ch at the end of 'conch' may be pronounced hard or soft. Many other gastropods have common names with ''conch'' in them. They are however not true conches, in the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Strombidae]]. One such example is the Horse Conch (''Pleuroploca gigantea''). The genus '''''Strombus''''' is made up of the true '''conches'''. While most Strombid species are [[wikt:extinct|extinct]], at least 65 species still exist. Of these, most are in the [[Indian ocean|Indo]]-[[Pacific]] Oceans while six are in the greater [[Caribbean]] region. Living true conch species include the Queen Conch, ''[[Lobatus gigas]]'' (formerly ''Strombus gigas'') and the West Indian Fighting Conch (''Strombus pugilis''). Many conch, such as the Queen Conch, are found among beds of [[sea grass]] in warm tropical waters. ''[[Lobatus gigas]]'' is included in Appendix II of the [[UNEP]]'s CITES list of [[endangered species]] and international trade is heavily restricted.[http://www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.shtml] == Anatomy == [[Image:Conch drawing.jpg|200px|thumb|left]] Conches have spirally constructed [[Animal shell|shells]]. Depending on species (or aberrant growth patterns), shell growth can be [[sinistral]] (left-handed) or [[dextral]] (right-handed). Conches have long eye stalks, a long and narrow aperture, and a siphonal canal with an indentation near the [[anterior]] end. This indentation is called a stromboid notch. They also have