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Giant triton snail
Charonia tritonis
Valid name (WoRMS, AphiaID 141102, checked 2026-10-31).
- English
- Giant triton snail
- Scientific
- Charonia tritonis
- Dhivehi
- No recorded Dhivehi name
- Group
- Sea snails
- Maximum size
- Up to about 50 cm (shell length)
- Depth and habitat
- Sea floor (benthic), recorded from 1 to 40 m
- IUCN status
- NE · Not EvaluatedNot Evaluated (NE)
Description
The giant triton snail is one of the largest sea snails, with a long, spiralling shell up to about 50 cm, patterned in brown, cream and white crescents. It hunts starfish, including the crown-of-thorns starfish, and sea cucumbers. Its shell has been widely collected, and it is now uncommon on many reefs.
In the Maldives
Recorded from the Maldives: museum specimens (n=2); iNaturalist research-grade observations in the Maldives (n=8, 3 observers).
Sources
- sealifebase.se /summary/Charonia-tritonis.html
- marinespecies.org /aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=141102
- inaturalist.org /taxa/121741
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Caracola_marina_(Charonia_Tritonis),_Cynthiana,_Pafos,_Chip
Dhivehi name source: No species-level Dhivehi name found in Dhivehi Wikipedia, SeaLifeBase (country: Maldives) or MRS/MMRI invertebrate publications.