Shell · Genus
Charonia
Triton's trumpet
Triton's trumpet (Charonia tritonis) is the half-metre spiral shell blown as a horn across the Pacific and one of the largest gastropods; Charonia lampas is the Mediterranean and Atlantic relative. Because the animal is a key reef predator, it is protected in much of its range, and Stratum flags Charonia for the compliance gate. Old collection shells are legal to hold but should be sold with provenance.
| Habitat | Coral reefs and rocky bottoms, preying on crown-of-thorns starfish |
|---|---|
| Regions | Indo-Pacific, Mediterranean, Caribbean, Australia |
| Family | Charoniidae |
| Authority (WoRMS) | Gistel, 1847· WoRMS / MolluscaBase |
| Status (WoRMS) | accepted· WoRMS / MolluscaBase |
| Extinct (WoRMS) | no· WoRMS / MolluscaBase |
| Classification (WoRMS) | Animalia › Mollusca › Gastropoda › Littorinimorpha › Charoniidae· WoRMS / MolluscaBase |
CITES and protection
Not CITES-listed, but Charonia tritonis is protected in Australia, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Seychelles and other range states because it controls crown-of-thorns starfish; Charonia lampas is protected in parts of the Mediterranean. Shells offered without provenance may be illegally taken.
Care (Byne's disease)
Triton shells are large and stable; older painted or varnished souvenir shells should be described as such.
Elsewhere
- WoRMS AphiaID: 138425
- Wikidata: Q591104
- WoRMS / MolluscaBase record
- Wikipedia: Charonia
- CITES Appendices
Cite this article
Stratum Strata. "Charonia" (Shell family). Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/strata/shells/charonia. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-charonia,
title = {Charonia},
author = {{Stratum Strata}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/strata/shells/charonia}},
year = {2026},
note = {Shell family article, Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21; sources: stratum, worms, commons, wikidata. Accessed 2026-09-21.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.