The Queen Conch, otherwise known as the Aliger gigas or Strombus gigas, is a large sea snail that eats plants and algai.
It is native to the Caribbean Sea, and tropical northwestern Atlantic, from Bermuda to Brazil.
International trade in the Caribbean queen conch is regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) agreement, in which it is listed as Strombus gigas. This species is not endangered in the Caribbean as a whole, but is commercially threatened in numerous areas, largely due to extreme overfishing.
The Queen conch displayed in this photograph is over 50 years old and still holds it’s shine! I bought it when I was in Bimini from a street vendor as a teenager.
