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On our Celebrity Cruise on the Beyond, in Aruba I went scuba diving.
There were a bunch of Hermit Crabs around, primarily inhabiting old Queen Conch shells. I believe that this crab is in front of a Pitted Barrel Sponge.
On our Celebrity Cruise on the Beyond, in Aruba I went scuba diving.
Yet another Hermit Crab in a Queen Conch shell.
closeup of a Queen Conch Shell
Found in the Caribbean Sea and surrounding waters, the queen conch is a fascinating site to behold. These sea snails are among the largest known; with the giant whelk, from Australia, being number 1. These critters can be found in coral reef habitats, sea grass beds, and sand flats, in shallower water. Due to their impressive appearance, these mollusks have been hunted by humans for centuries. These mollusks have been used as a musical instrument and for food since the Upper Paleolithic period. Their numbers remain stable, but uncertain. They currently aren't evaluated by the IUCN.
First the Stats...
Scientific name: Lobatus gigas
Weight: Up to 5 lbs.
Length: Up to 12 inches
Lifespan: Up to 30 years
Now on to the Facts!
1.) Queen conchs are herbivores (eat plant matter) that graze on sea algae and other marine plant life.
2.) Loggerhead turtles, nurse sharks, eagle rays, other predatory snail species, blue crabs, spiny lobsters, and other crustaceans all prey on conchs.
3.) After a few years of growth, the queen conch's shell no longer grows in size, but rather in thickness.
4.) Since commercial and recreational fishing was banned in the 1980’s, it is now illegal to take queen conchs in the state of Florida.
5.) In India the conch has religious importance in the Buddhist and Hindu faiths. They have also been used as a war trumpet and is still used in Hindi rituals to this day.
But wait, there's more on the queen conch!
6.)
critter.science/the-large-queen-conch/
Queen conch, Strombus gigas, were harvested so heavily in the Caribbean that they became economically extinct in several places, and became locally extinct in others, such as Bonaire in the Netherland Antilles. So it is a joy to find healthy populations of conch. I watched them slowly cruising about at Half Moon Caye, on Lighthouse Reef, Belize.
Look carefully--two eyes protrude from the shell on speckled stalks.
Free download under CC Attribution (CC BY 4.0). Please credit the artist and rawpixel.com.
Wander into a world of tropical birds, mythical creatures, and everything in between. Natural paintings from the talented Flemish draughtsman Anselmus Boëtius de Boodt (1550–1632). His passion of biodiversity, made him become a humanist, mineralogist, physician and naturalist, all portrayed in his artwork. With this vintage collection of flora and fauna we want to showcase his illustration skills, and provide you with beautiful printable decorations for your walls. Digitally enhanced and and available to download for free under the CC0 license.
Higher resolutions with no attribution required can be downloaded: https://www.rawpixel.com/board/561364/anselmus-boetius-de-boodt-free-public-domain-plant-and-animal-illustrations
Free download under CC Attribution (CC BY 4.0). Please credit the artist and rawpixel.com.
Wander into a world of tropical birds, mythical creatures, and everything in between. Natural paintings from the talented Flemish draughtsman Anselmus Boëtius de Boodt (1550–1632). His passion of biodiversity, made him become a humanist, mineralogist, physician and naturalist, all portrayed in his artwork. With this vintage collection of flora and fauna we want to showcase his illustration skills, and provide you with beautiful printable decorations for your walls. Digitally enhanced and and available to download for free under the CC0 license.
Higher resolutions with no attribution required can be downloaded: https://www.rawpixel.com/board/561364/anselmus-boetius-de-boodt-free-public-domain-plant-and-animal-illustrations
• Queen Conch
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Mollusca
Class:Gastropoda
Clade:Caenogastropoda
Clade:Hypsogastropoda
Clade:Littorinimorpha
Family:Strombidae
Genus:Aliger
Species:A. gigas
Deep Pink specimen
2017
Ragged Island, Jumentos Cays, Lucayan Archipelago, Bahamas
From my collection
