Turbinella pyrum

Turbinella pyrum, common names the chank shell, sacred chank or chank, also known as the divine conch or referred to simply as a conch, is a species of very large sea snail with a gill and an operculum, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Turbinellidae. This species occurs in the Indian Ocean.

Turbinella pyrum
Five views of a shell ofTurbinella pyrum with its periostracum intact
Three carved dextral shells of Turbinella pyrum from 11th century India, see shankha
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Neogastropoda
Family: Turbinellidae
Genus: Turbinella
Species:
T. pyrum
Binomial name
Turbinella pyrum
Synonyms

Buccinella caerulea Perry, 1811

The name "chank" for the shell of this species is derived from the Indian word shankha, the divine conch. The old generic name was Xancus. The Dutch used to call them chianco.

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