Conch pronounced konk

 

Here he comes!  Or she, I don't know.  They kind of whoomph along, one lurch at a time, pushing their heavy shell with their foot.  Imagine yourself sitting on a mat on a smooth floor, and giving one push at a time with one foot.  See the trail left in the sand?

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An egg mass!  Beside a bit of seaweed.  I'll do plants one of these days.  This egg mass would fit in the palm of my hand, and feel like egg white rolled in sand, crusty and a little jiggly.  250,000 eggs in there!  And only one will make it to reproductive age.

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Hey!  Total anger, see the hole?  Some human killed this one for food.  There are only about twenty Conchs in this whole sandy area, and they generally stay together.

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I swam a circle around, and the shell seemed unoccupied, so I sat it up in the sand to make a better habitat for a fish or crab or something.  The skirt has begun turning black, an indication of extreme old age for a Conch.  And it's easy to see where the animal was putting down less and less of the pink ... umm... smooth insides of the shell, I don't have my Conch book handy.  They live from five to seven years.  

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They have been over harvested almost everywhere.  Key West is called the Conch Republic, but there hasn't been a Queen Conch in the Keys since who knows when.  They must have seemed limitless long ago.  I saw a place one time that was thick with Conch, one every two feet.

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Another Conch, what's he doing?? Mountain climbing, or maybe stuck. I might believe they're not very smart.  A little smart to live this long, and those that I've seen up in the shallows lately have probably been running away from the killer.

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I don't usually mess with them, but I did pick up this one.

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Not as old as the other one, but on up there in years, the shell is very thick and heavy.  And he did NOT like me messing with him, started kicking right away.  The sandy bit is the sole of their foot, the spur is the Operculum, and his face is to the right, two eye stalks and the mouth, the Probiscus.

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A portrait of an angry, insulted Conch, glaring at the camera!  Big pout of the mouth.

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And one coral image.  The Fan Worm playing King of the Mountain.  Juvenile Grunts and some adult Wrasses hanging around, and a Rope Sponge poking up.

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OK, have a great day!  And see you tomorrow with one more Conch adventure that you'll really like!

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Thanks for stopping by!

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