Conch

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'''Conch''' is a [[common name]] that is applied to a number of different medium to large-sized sea [[snail]]s or their [[gastropod shell|shells]]. The term generally applies to large sea snails whose shell has a high [[Spire (mollusc)|spire]] and a noticeable [[siphonal canal]] (in other words, the shell comes to a point at both ends).

True conches are [[Marine (ocean)|marine]] [[gastropod]] [[mollusc]]s in the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Strombidae]], specifically in the genus '''''[[Strombus]]''''' and other closely related genera such as ''[[Eustrombus]]''.

Many species also are often called "conch", but are not in the family Strombidae, including ''[[Melongena]]'' species (family [[Melongenidae]]), and the horse conch ''[[Pleuroploca gigantea]]'' (family [[Fasciolariidae]]). They also include the sacred chank or more correctly [[shankha]] shell (''[[Turbinella pyrum]]'') and other ''Turbinella'' species in the family [[Turbinellidae]].

== See also ==
* [[Seashell]]
* [[Seashell resonance]]


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