Strombidae, Xenophoridae and Struthiolariidae, which included A. gigas (there referred to as Eustrombus gigas). With the exception of Lambis and Terebellum, the remaining taxa were previously allocated in the genus Strombus, including A. gigas. However, according to Simone, only Strombus gracilior, Strombus alatus and Strombus pugilis, the type species, remained within Strombus, as they constituted a distinct group based on at least five synapomorphies (traits that are shared by two or more taxa and their most recent common ancestor). The remaining taxa were previously considered subgenera and were elevated to genus level by Simone. Genus Eustrombus (now considered a synonym of Lobatus), in this case, included Eustrombus gigas (now considered a synonym of Aliger gigas) and Eustrombus goliath (= Lobatus goliath), which were thus considered closely related. In a different approach, Latiolais and colleagues (2006) proposed another cladogram that attempts to show the phylogenetic relationships of 34 species within the family Strombidae. The authors analysed 31 Strombus species, including Aliger gigas (there referred to as Strombus gigas), and three species in the allied genus Lambis. The cladogram was based on DNA sequences of both nuclear histone H3 and mitochondrial cytochrome-c oxidase I (COI) protein-coding gene regions. In this proposed phylogeny, Strombus gigas and Strombus gallus (= Lobatus gallus) are closely related and appear to share a common ancestor. Common names Common names include "queen conch" and "pink conch" in English, and in Mexico, , , and in Venezuela, , in the Dominican Republic and Grenada, and in Puerto Rico. Anatomy Shell The mature shell grows to in length in three to five years while the maximum reported size is . However, even though they only grow to be this maximum length, the thickness of the shell is constantly increasing. The shell is very solid and heavy, with 9 to 11 whorls and a widely flaring and thickened outer lip. The thickness is highly important because the thicker the shell, the better protected it is. Additionally, instead of increasing in size once it reaches its maximum, the outside shell thickens as time goes on- an important indicator of how old the queen conch is. Although this notch is not as well developed as elsewhere in the family, the shell feature is nonetheless visible in an adult dextral (normal right-handed) specimen, as a secondary anterior indentation in the lip, to the right of the siphonal canal (viewed ventrally). The animal's left eyestalk