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Family Strombidae

SHELL heavy, porcellanous, with conical spire; aperture elongated, channeled at both ends; outer lip generally thickened and dilated; curved sinus for the head near basal canal; operculum claw-like, horny, notched on edge; foot narrow in front, arched and broad behind; head with contractile snout, highly developed eyes' tentacles rising from stout eye-stalks; radula well developed; siphon short.

Active, intelligent mollusks, chiefly carrion-feeders, found on reefs in tropical seas. Shells used in manufacture of porcelain and lime, in cameo-cutting and for ornament. Animal sometimes eaten.