| Range: |
Tropical and subtropical waters worldwide |
| Habitat: |
Oceans |
| Conservation Status: |
Not listed by IUCN |
| Scientific Name: |
Strombus sp. |
The snails of the world's oceans come in a wide variety of size, shapes and colors. Some are as small as a grain of sand, others as large as a basketball.
Marine snails' shells serve many purposes. Not only do they protect the animals' soft bodies from harm but they can also provide an array of defenses. Cone snails have venomous "harpoons" while the shell horns on conches are used to wedge them into crevices.
And of course, we enjoy hearing the low "humming" sound when we put our ear to a large snail shell. This occurs because of the way that air passes through the chambers of the shell.
|
