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Metadata
Title: Queen Conch Shell
Alternative Title: Strombus gigas
Creator: Heilemann, Tami
Source: WO-E 88
Publisher: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Contributor: DIVISION OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Language: EN - ENGLISH
Rights: (public domain)
Audience: (general)
Subject: shell, shells, marine, pink, Electronic

Description
Table Of Contents: Pink Conch or Queen Conch is found in the shallow waters of Bermuda; south Florida to the West Indies. The shell is 8 to 12 inches, heavy and solid with a short conical spire. This is the shell that for generations has been used by families of seafaring men as a doorstop or for decorating the borders of flower beds. It is one of our largest and heavest gastropods, individuals sometimes weighing more than 5 pounds. It is a commercial shell and large numbers are exported from the Bahamas for cutting into cameos; the scrap material is ground into powder for manufacturing porcelain. When traveling through Florida one often sees hughe piles of this shell heaped up beside a gas station or tourist lodge. They make popular Florida souvenirs, even though all of them are imported from one of the West Indian islands. ELECTRONIC IMAGE ONLY! (no slide available)

Date
Available: October 02 2003
Issued: October 02 2003
Modified: October 02 2003