>Pardon my ignorance and getting so many worked up.  I went and bought a
>book and yes it is a horse conch.
 
Is the scientific name of the shell Pleuroploca gigantea? If so, it's what
we call in the States a Horse Conch. If it's Turbinella angulata, it's what
the Bahamians often call a Horse Conch. I'm not sure that Pleuroploca is to
be found in Cuba - it's not in the rest of the Caribbean, except on the
upper Yucatan Peninsula. The two shells grow to similar size and live in
the same habitat, are both voracious predators of other molluscs. The
animal of Pleuroploca is bright red and that of Turbinella is black with
some yellow mottling. Therefore the Mexicans call them "rojos" and
"negros".
 
Peggy
 
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