Lambis truncata

Lambis truncata, common name the giant spider conch, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Strombidae, the true conchs.^[1]

Lambis truncata
Five views of a shell of Lambis truncata
Lambis truncata in Ad Dimaniyat Islands, Oman
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Littorinimorpha
Family:	Strombidae
Genus:	Lambis
Species:	L. truncata
Binomial name
Lambis truncata (Humphrey, 1786)
Synonyms[1]
Lambis bryonia Gmelin, 1791 Pterocera bryonia (Gmelin, 1791) Strombus truncatus Lightfoot, 1786 (basionym)

Subspecies

A shell of Lambis truncata truncata

A shell of Lambis truncata sebae

Subspecies of Lambis truncata include:

• Lambis truncata truncata (Humphrey, 1786)^[1]
• Lambis truncata sebae (Kiener, 1843)^[1]

Lambis truncata truncata has a flat apex, while the apex of Lambis truncata sebae is more pointed.

Description

A colored drawing of Lambis truncata from Kiener, 1843, depicting both the shell and soft parts

Lambis truncata is the largest and heaviest of spider shells, up to 40 cm.^[1] Lambis truncata is similar to Lambis lambis but with a more squarish outline.^[1] Younger shells are creamy white; columella and lip usually mauve brown when older.^[1]

Distribution

The distribution of Lambis truncata includes the Indian Ocean off ^[1] Aldabra, Chagos, Madagascar, Mauritius, Tanzania; the Bay of Bengal and in the Pacific Ocean along the Philippines.

Ecology

Lambis truncata lives on rubble and coarse sand in shallow water.^[1]