I beg to differ on the size of the Strombus gigas.  I was with a group
at Key West, snorkeling, and ran across a huge one.  No one of the group
was anywhere within shouting distance for me to have proof, or help.  It
was illegal to take, but i did want to see the underside.  Impossible.
It was so heavy I could not even turn it over. I had a shell dip-net
with with and measured it's length by the width of the wire.  It was
1-1/2 widths of the net, which I measured later to determine that the
shell was 18" long.  This was in 1992.
 
 
Sylvia Edwards
Huntsville, AL
 
Paul R. Monfils wrote:
>
> Hello Ivan,
 
<snip>
> mention a "nice pink color".  If you are referring to the interior of the
> shell, that description would lead me to suspect Strombus gigas, the pink
> conch or queen conch, which is also found in your area - but that species
> doesn't reach 18 inches - 12-13 inches is a large one.
<snip>