Pacific Crown Conch Shell, Melongena patula

Pacific Crown Conch Shell, Melongena patula. Shell collected off the beach at Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, December 2022. Size: 8.2 cm (2.8 inches) x 6.2 cm (2.4 inches) x 9.0 cm (3.5 inches). Collection, photographs and identifications courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur.

Pacific Crown Conch Shell, Melongena patula. Shell collected off the beach at Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, March 2022. Size: 13 cm (5.1 inches) x 9 cm (3.5 inches) x 6 cm (2.4 inches). Photographs courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur.

Pacific Crown Conch Shell, Melongena patula. Shell provided by the commercial fishermen of Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, March 2018. Size: 18.4 cm (7.2 inches) x 13.0 cm (5.1 inches) x 9 cm (3.5 inches).

Pacific Crown Conch Shell, Melongena patula. Shell collected off the beach at Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, December 2021. Size: 18 cm (7.0 inches) x 13 cm (5.2 inches) x 9 cm (3.5 inches). Collection courtesy of Kathy Farley, Punta Chivato. Photographs courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur.

The Pacific Crown Conch, Melongena patula (Broderip and G.B. Sowerby I, 1829), is a gastropod mollusk that is a member of the Melongenidae Family of Crown Conchs and Melon Conchs,. They are also known as the Prince Crown Conch and the Spreading Crown Conch and in Mexico as melongena coco. The shell is pear-shaped with a low spire and shoulders that may be smooth or have knobs or spires. They have wide apertures that are wide and run the length of the majority of the shell. The exterior of the shell is chestnut with darker brown, yellow or white spiral banding. The interior is white and can have yellow and pink tinges. The shell is covered with a thick brown fibrous periostracum. The Pacific Crown Conch Shells reach a maximum of 25 cm (9.8 inches) and  18 cm (7.1 inches) in height.

Pacific Crown Conchs are found on sand and mud, often associated with mangroves, in the intertidal zone at depths up to 10 m (35 feet). They are found throughout the Sea of Cortez, and south to Peru. They have not been documented from the Pacific Coast of the Peninsula noting that the pictured shell above was collected in coastal waters off Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, indicative of a slight presence along the extreme southwest coast of Baja.