Description
This large snail has an 8–15 cm tall, conical shell strongly reminiscent of an ice cream cone. The largest of Horn snails, the heavy conical shell is actually beautifully marked but the patterns are usually hidden by mud and other encrusting animals. The outer lip is thin and not flared. Operculum small and circular. The animal is velvety black with a highly extendible proboscis. There is a third eye on its mantle margin, in addition to a pair of eyes at the tentacles. It can stay out of water for long periods of time.
Size
Maximum length: 9.4 cm (TL), common length: 3-8 cm (TL)
Diet
Feeds on detritus and algae from the mud surface at low tide by sucking using its proboscis
Utilization
It is steamed and eaten with chilli.
Gears
Gillnet, trawl and hand-dredgers