The Conch Shells 



when pursued. If placed on its back, it rights itself by a somer- 

 sault. A downward slope is a great advantage, for here the 

 weight of the shell becomes a propulsive force, and the foot is 

 kept busy lifting the shell into positions of unstable equilibrium, 

 when a slight push of the operculum sends it rolling down hill. 

 This is convenient in getting back to the water after being 

 stranded on the beach. 



The giant conch is the scavenger of our tropical beaches; 

 it is believed to subsist wholly on carrion. The sense of smell 

 is as keen as the remarkable eyesight. Dead fish and other 

 animal refuse attract great numbers to the spot where it is 

 placed. 



These creatures are easily captured with a bait of meat. 

 In turn they are used as food by part of the population of the 

 Bahamas, and at Key West. Indeed, the inhabitants 

 are called "conchs" in mild contempt by Floridians and 

 others whose taste in shell fish does not include this "buzzard" 

 mollusk. 



The Goliath Conch (S. Goliath, Chemn.), a rare West Indian 

 species, is 8 to lo inches long; its lip is spread to unusual length 

 and breadth, forming a great wing. The aperture is lined with 

 orange brown. The spire is banded with double grooves, and 

 knobbbed with blunt tubercles above. 



The Fighting Conch (S. pugilis, Linn.), 3 to 4 inches long 

 when full grown, is very common on the Florida coast, east and 

 west. The spire is tapering, the whorls sculptured with fine 

 parallel revolving grooves, the upper margin of each whorl set 

 with sharp knobs. The aperture has an anterior and a posterior 

 canal and a notch for the head in the broad outer lip near the 

 tapering base of the shell. Outside, the pale colour of the shell 

 is clouded with brown in bands or patches, often purplish, darken- 

 ing on the body whorl. The shell lining is polished, as is also the 

 columella. The lip is orange or deep red, shading back to purple, 

 finally to pink. 



The species exhibits considerable variability. Forms lacking 

 the knobs on the shells have been described as a distinct species, 

 alatus. Intermediate forms unite this smooth-shelled form as a 

 variety to the species pugilis. 



It is an exciting experience to watch these conchs on a 

 Florida beach contriving to get back to the water after being 



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