Titanostrombus galeatus: Difference between revisions

''Titanostrombus galeatus'' occurs in several countries and regions along the coastal waters of the eastern [[Pacific Ocean]], including the Gulf of California, [[Mexico]], Pacific [[Panama]], [[Nicaragua]], [[Costa Rica]], [[Ecuador]], [[Galapagos Islands]] and Peru.<ref name=Cipirani2008>{{cite journal|last=Cipirani|first=R.|author2=Guzman, H. M. |author3=Vega, A. J. |author4= Lopez, M. |title=Population assessment of the conch ''Strombus galeatus'' (Gastropoda, Strombidae) in Pacific Panama|journal=Journal of Shellfish Research|year=2008|volume=27|issue=4|pages=889–896|doi=10.2983/0730-8000(2008)27[889:PAOTCS]2.0.CO;2|url=http://www.stri.si.edu/sites/darwin_initiative/PDFs/Cipriani_et_al_Guzman_conch_2008.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stromboidea.de/?n=Species.LobatusGaleatus|title = Gastropoda Stromboidea &#124; Species / Lobatus Galeatus}}</ref>

Compared to other gastropods, ''Titanostrombus galeatus'' has an unusual means of locomotion, which is common only among the Strombidae. This curious series of maneuvers was originally described by the American zoologist [[George Howard Parker]] in 1922. The animal initially fixes the posterior end of the foot by thrusting the point of its sickle-shaped operculum into the [[substrate (biology)|substrate]]. Then it extends its foot forward, lifting the shell and throwing it ahead in a motion that Parker called "leaping".<ref name="parker">{{cite journal|last=Parker|first=G. H.|year=1922|title=The leaping of the stromb (''Strombus gigas'' Linn.)|journal=Journal of Experimental Zoology|volume=36|issue=2|pages=205–209|doi=10.1002/jez.1400360204|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1426886/files/article.pdf}}</ref> ''L. galeatus'' is known to move long distances, on a scale of [[kilometers]], in a matter of months.<ref name=Cipirani2008 /> Burrowing behavior, in which an individual sinks itself entirely or partially into the substrate, is frequent among strombid gastropods.<ref name="Savazzi89">{{cite journal|last=Savazzi|first=E.|title=New observations on burrowing in strombid gastropods|journal=Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde. Serie A (Biologie)|year=1989|issue=434|pages=1–10|publisher=Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde|issn=0341-0145}}</ref> In the course of its [[life expectancy|life span]], ''Lobatus galeatus'' spends part of the time partially buried in the sand.<ref name=Cipirani2008 />

Giant conch shells were used as [[wind instruments]] by the [[Chavín]], a [[pre-Incan]] civilization that developed in the northern [[Andean]] highlands of Peru.<ref name="maize">{{cite journal | last1 = Burger | first1 = R. L. | last2 = Van Der Merwe | first2 = N. J. | year = 1990 | title = Maize and the origin of Highland Chavín Civilization: An isotopic perspective | journal = American Anthropologist | volume = 92 | issue = 1| pages = 85–95 | doi=10.1525/aa.1990.92.1.02a00060}}</ref> ''Lobatus galeatus'' shells were prepared for musical use through the creation of a mouthpiece. This was done by cutting a small tip of the [[Spire (mollusc)|spire]] out and polishing the resulting hole, thus producing a trumpet-like instrument. In 2001, twenty such instruments were excavated from the [[Chavín de Huantar]] [[archaeological site]], which makes them nearly three thousand years old.<ref name=Cook/> This kind of playable shell is still used in the Andes, where they are known as ''pututu''.<ref name=Cook>{{cite journal|last=Cook|first=P. R.|author2=Abel, J. S. |author3=Kolar, M. A. |author4=Huang, P. |author5=Huopaniemi, J. |author6=Rick, J. W. |author7=Chafe, C. |author8= Chowning, J. M. |title=Acoustic analysis of the Chavín pututus (''Strombus galeatus'' marine shell trumpets)|journal=Journal of the Acoustical Society of America|year=2010|volume=128|issue=4|pages=2359–23592359|doi=10.1121/1.3508370|bibcode=2010ASAJ..128Q2359C|url=https://ccrma.stanford.edu/groups/chavin/publications/ASA2010_ChavinPututus.pdf|issn=0001-4966}}</ref> ''Lobatus galeatus'' is edible; it is an economically important species in many areas where it occurs. It is primarily used for subsistence and commercial fishery.<ref name=Cipirani2008 />