Tom,

I don't know about Conus textile, but I have part of the answer to your
question about Strombus gigas, I think.  The shell lip flares at about 3.5
years, at which time the conch is near sexual maturity.  This information
is from a poster on the life cycle of the Queen Conch done by Bonnie Bower
Dennis for the Caribbean Marine Research Center and the Department of
Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Trade and Industry, Nassau, Bahamas.
The poster, incidentally, is a beautiful thing.

Lynn Scheu
Louisville, KY
[log in to unmask]


>Does anyone know:
>
>1) how long Strombus gigas lives and/or reaches adult size?
>2) how long Conus textile lives?
>
>
>
>
>*****************************************
> G Thomas Watters
> Ohio Biological Survey &
> Aquatic Ecology Laboratory
> Ohio State University
> 1315 Kinnear Road
> Columbus, OH 43212 USA
> v: 614-292-6170  f: 614-292-0181
>******************************************
>
>"The world is my oyster except for months with an 'R' in them" - Firesign
>Theater
>
>"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and he
>has to buy a license" - GTW
>