Animal profile

Queen Conch

Aliger gigas

GastropodaShallow seagrass beds and sand flats on tropical reefs

Field profile

The queen conch is a large marine snail with a heavy flared shell up to about thirty centimetres, pink inside. It grazes algae and detritus in seagrass meadows. It has been heavily fished across the Caribbean and is regulated under CITES.

Published field notes

2026-02-02

Queen Conch

The queen conch does not crawl, it pole-vaults

Instead of gliding on a muscular foot like most snails, the queen conch plants a sharp claw-like operculum in the sand and levers its whole shell forward in a lurching hop. The gait is fast enough to escape some predators.

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