Marine Snails: Ceriths, Nassas and Conchs Codexery

Aliger gigas

A large Caribbean sea snail with a heavy, flared shell.

Last updated

Aliger gigas

Jennifer Doerr, NOAA SEFSC Galveston · via Wikipedia: Aliger gigas · Public domain

Aliger gigas is a large marine gastropod mollusk in the family Strombidae, with a very solid and heavy shell that has knob-like spines and a pink or orange aperture.[1][2] The species is native to the tropical Western Atlantic coasts of North and Central America in the greater Caribbean tropical zone.[3] International trade in this species is regulated under the CITES agreement, where it is listed as Strombus gigas.[4]

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumMollusca
  3. ClassGastropoda
  4. SubclassCaenogastropoda
  5. OrderLittorinimorpha
  6. FamilyStrombidae
  7. GenusAliger
  8. SpeciesAliger gigas

Named by (Linnaeus, 1758)

Close relatives

Other species of Aliger with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Aliger gigas (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 1429769 (CC BY 4.0)

Conservation status

Near Threatened (NT)

  1. LC
  2. NT▲ this species
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX
Population trend
Not held in our sources — see the assessment
Assessment published
2025

Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category

How big is it?

Size comparison: Aliger gigas and a personA 0.35 m long aliger gigas drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.0.35 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 0.35 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Aliger gigas

Where the aliger gigas has been recorded

Where the aliger gigas has been recorded140 mapped locations from 9,042 GBIF occurrence records

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (9,042 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 32 inland records left out (institution coordinates). 1 isolated far-off record not drawn.

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain)

Biology and range

Aliger gigas typically resides in seagrass beds on sandy plains associated with coral reefs, though habitat varies by developmental age.[1] The species is gonochoristic, with each individual either distinctly male or distinctly female.[5] Females lay eggs in gelatinous strings up to 75 ft long, layered on bare sand or seagrass.[5] The queen conch consumes only plants, obtaining its nutrition by grazing on vegetation and algae found in seagrass meadows and also consuming decomposed plant material.[1]

Within a period of three to five years, the fully grown shell attains a length between 15 and 31 cm, and the greatest recorded dimension is 35.2 cm.[6] A sandy hue on the exterior of the shell provides camouflage against the background.[1] A flared lip is absent from immature individuals; this feature appears only when the snail attains the ability to reproduce.[1] The depth range for Aliger gigas is from 0.3 to 18 m and also from 25 to 35 m, constrained by where seagrass and algae are found.[7]

Sexual maturity in the queen conch occurs at roughly 3 to 4 years old, when the shell measures close to 180 mm in length.[8] A typical lifespan is up to 7 years, but in deeper water environments the animal can survive for 20 to 30 years.[8]

What the specialist sources record

The World Register of Marine Species accepts the current valid name as Aliger gigas (Linnaeus, 1758).[2] GBIF holds 10,437 occurrence records for Aliger gigas as of 7 October 2026.[9] The National Geographic Society reported in 2019 that overfishing and loose regulations have pushed many conch communities below the critical level needed for mating.[10] The Bahamas' Department of Marine Resources announced in January 2019 it would make official recommendations to better protect the conch, including ending exports.[10]

A 2019 study forecast that overfishing might cause the disappearance of conchs from the Bahamas within a decade.[10]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Aliger gigas" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Queen Conch" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. World Register of Marine Species, Aliger gigas (AphiaID 1429769). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Aliger gigas" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Puglisi, M. P., "Strombus gigas", Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, 2008; Rosenberg, G. (2009). "Eustrombus gigas (Linnaeus, 1758)". Malacolog Version 4.1.1: A Database of Western Atlantic Marine Mollusca. Retrieved 27 September 2009.; Martin-Mora, "Developmental plasticity in the shell of the queen conch Strombus gigas", Ecology, 1995, p. 981–994; "International Queen Conch Initiative", NOAA: Caribbean Fishery Management Council; Moscatelli, "The superfamily Strombacea from Western Atlantic", Antonio A. Nanô & Filho Ltda, 1987, p en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Aliger gigas" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Acosta, "Impending Trade Suspensions of Caribbean Queen Conch under CITES: A Case Study on Fishery Impacts and Potential for Stock Recovery", Fisheries, 2006, p. 601–606 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Aliger gigas" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Davis, "Species Profile: Queen Conch, Strombus gigas", SRAC Publication No. 7203, 2005; Ulrich Wieneke (ed.) Lobatus gigas. In: Gastropoda Stromboidea. modified: 22 November 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2009.; McCarthy, K. (2007). A review of queen conch (Strombus gigas) life-history. Sustainable Fisheries Division NOAA. SEDAR 14-DW-4.; Puglisi, M. P., "Strombus gigas", Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, 2008 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Aliger gigas" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Toller, "Queen Conch Strombus gigas", U.S.V.I. Department of Planning and Natural Resources Division of Fish and Wildlife, 2003; Warmke, "Caribbean Seashells", Dover Publications, Inc, 1975, p. 88 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Aliger gigas" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Puglisi, M. P., "Strombus gigas", Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, 2008; Welch, "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence", PLoS ONE, 2010; Ehrhardt, "Conch (Strombus gigas) Stock Assessment Manual", Caribbean Fishery Management Council, 2008, p. 128 pp (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Aliger gigas" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: McCarthy, K. (2007). A review of queen conch (Strombus gigas) life-history. Sustainable Fisheries Division NOAA. SEDAR 14-DW-4.; Ulrich Wieneke (ed.) Lobatus gigas. In: Gastropoda Stromboidea. modified: 22 November 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2009.; Medley, "Monitoring and managing queen conch fisheries: A manual", Food and Agriculture Organization of the Uniteded Nations (FAO), 2008; Davis, "Species Profile: Queen Conch, Strombus gigas", SRAC Publication No. 7203, 2005; Puglisi, M. P., "Strombus gigas", Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pier en.wikipedia.org
  9. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Aliger gigas (taxon key 10903982). CC BY 4.0 (backbone); counts are facts. gbif.org
  10. "The Bahamas' iconic conch could soon disappear", National Geographic Society, 16 January 2019. facts only, no text reused. nationalgeographic.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Aliger gigas (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Same family (Strombidae)

Lobatus raninus Lobatus raninusStrombus alatus Strombus alatusStrombus gracilior Strombus graciliorCanarium urceus Canarium urceus

Named in this entry

Genus

More in Marine Snails: Ceriths, Nassas and Conchs

Conomurex luhuanusLaevistrombus canariumStrombusBittiumNassariaPhosTitanostrombus galeatusCerithiumTitanostrombus goliathNassarius conoidalisMacrostrombus costatusStrombus pugilis

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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