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| shelled snails text index | photo index |
| Phylum Mollusca > Class Gastropoda > Family Strombidae |
| Dark
Diana conch Strombus aratrum Family Strombidae updated Aug 10 Where seen? This amazing conch was seen once on Changi in a lush seagrass meadow. Elsewhere it is considered moderately common in shallow water near reefs, grassy sand flats and coral rubble to 10m deep. Features: 7-9cm long. Shell thick, large flared lip with one prong. The inner portion of shell opening is pearly and orange and there are brown stains on the underside. According to Abbott, Strombus aratrum is a subspecies of S. aurisdianae. 'Auris' means 'ear' and indeed, the beautiful underside of S. aurisdianae may be what the ear of the goddess Diana looks like. The common name of S. aurisdianae is the Diana conch or Diana Ear conch. S. aratrum is more elongate and has a brown-stained shell opening. Thus its common name is Dark Diana conch! Human uses: S. aurisdianae is collected for food where it is abundant. The shell is used in shellcraft. It is sold in local markets of the central and northern Philippines. Status and threats: S. aratrum (spelt S. atratum in the Red Data Book) is listed as 'Critically Endangered' in the Red List of threatened animals of Singapore. The Red Data Book states it as being found near our coral reefs and was present in small numbers until the 1960s. It was rarely seen since then and possibly "now wiped out". |
 Changi, Apr 09  |
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Links
References
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Graham Brash, Singapore. 145 pp.|
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