Tibia fusus, common name Spindle tibia or Shinbone Tibia Gastropod, is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Strombidae, the true conchs. Distribution This species is widespread in Eastern Indian Ocean and Western Pacific, from Indochina, China Sea, southern Japan and the Philippines to the Banda Sea, Indonesia, Australia and Oceania. Habitat Most Tibia fusus live in tropical offshore waters where there is plenty of sand, at depths of 5 to 50 m. Description The shells of Tibia fusus can reach a length of (including the long siphonal canal), with a typical length of 23 cm (9 in.). These shells are large, spindle-shaped with moderately convex turns and an extremely long, thin and slightly curved siphonal canal. The basic color ranges from straw yellow to reddish-beige. The aperture is ovate and white inside, with 6 fingerlike growths on the outer lip. It is a fairly common species where it occurs, but because of its attractive appearance, it is highly sought after by shell collectors. Life cycle Embryos develop into free-swimming planktonic marine larvae (trochophore) and later into juvenile veligers. Bibliography Walls, J.G. (1980). Conchs, tibias and harps. A survey of the molluscan families Strombidae and Harpidae. T.F.H. Publications Ltd, Hong Kong. Koichiro Masuda & CHi-Yue Huang, 1993. Miocene Gastropoda and Scaphopoda in the western foothills of northern Taiwan. Journal of the Geological Society of China (1993) Springsteen, F.J. & Leobrera, F.M. 1986. Shells of the Philippines References External links Encyclopedia of life Stromboidea Rostellariidae Gastropods described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus