1. Word Games
  2. Word of the Day
  3. New Words & Slang
  4. Video
 

conch


conch

/

Florida horse conch (Pleuroploca gigantea)—© E.R. Degginger—The National Audubon Society Collection/Photo Researchers

Marine snail whose shell has a broadly triangular outer whorl and a wide lip, often jutting toward the uppermost point. True conchs (family Strombidae) feed on fine plant matter in warm waters. The queen conch (Strombus gigas), found from Florida to Brazil, has an ornamental shell; the pink opening into the first whorl of the shell may be 12 in. (30 cm) long. The clam-eating fulgur conchs (family Melongenidae) include the channeled conch (Busycon canaliculatum) and the lightning conch (B. contrarium), both about 7 in. (18 cm) long and common on the U.S. Atlantic coast. See also whelk.

This entry comes from Encyclopædia Britannica Concise.
For the full entry on conch, visit Britannica.com.

Learn More About CONCH

Seen & Heard

What made you look up conch? Please tell us what you were reading, watching or discussing that led you here.

Test Your Vocabulary

Take Our 10-Question Quiz

Name That Thing

Take our visual vocab quiz

Test Your Knowledge »

True or False?

A quick quiz about stuff worth knowing

Take It Now »

Join Us on FB & Twitter

Get the Word of the Day and More

Facebook | Twitter

Get Our Free Apps

Voice Search, Favorites,
Word of the Day, and More

iPhone | iPad | Android | More