Portal:Gastropods/Selected picture/15

An apertural view of an adult shell of the extremely large sea snail known as the Australian trumpet, Syrinx aruanus in the family Turbinellidae. This species is the largest Recent shelled gastropod species; the height of the shell can be up to 91 cm.

The shell itself is usually pale apricot in color as shown here, however in life the shell is covered by thick brown or grey periostracum. The whole shell has a spindle-like shape and the spire of the shell is quite high. The whorls usually have a strong keel and the shell has a long siphonal canal. There are no folds on the columella, unlike some other genera within the same family.

In this image, a rod is visible protruding from the siphonal canal; this metal structure is used to support the specimen as it is on display in the Houston Museum of Natural Science.