Conch (Lat. concha, a shell), a name given to many univalve shells, of the families strom-MdcE or wing shells, pyrulidce or fig shells, fasciolaridae or band shells, etc. The name is also applied to the genus triton. The first named make curious egg cases, like flattened disks, attached in considerable numbers to a string on one side; the strings are sometimes two feet long, and are the favorite food of many carnivorous mollusks. These animals were doubtless eaten by the American aborigines, as their shells are numerous in the Florida shell heaps, and, though very tough, they are now eaten by the poor. Some of the shells are valuable for making cameos; and the South sea islanders use the sea conch (triton) as an instrument of music, blowing into the shell through the broken apex, thereby producing a loud and mellow sound. It is a species of sea conch which is represented as used by the god Triton. In many rural parts of the United States conchs of the genus strom-bus are used in place of dinner bells or tin horns, to call persons from a distance.