Stanley Francis wrote:

> David Krish asked:
>
>>A non-collector friend asks me, "Why do they call them fighting conchs?"
>
> In my experience all Strombidae will twist and turn when disturbed, and they
> will nick your fingers if you are not careful.  I have always understood
> that  S. alatus and S. pugilus are called 'fighting conch' because of their
> similarity in shape to a Roman Gladiators gauntlet.

They certainly do put up a fight when disturbed, but I'll be damned if I
can see any resemblance to a Roman gauntlet.

Methinks this gauntlet thing was put together by someone who never saw
them fight.

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