Structure

• Trochus shells can grow up to 13 cm long. Most of them are white with speckled shades of purple, red and blue-green. The shells are banded with separating grooves and are textured with either a completely ridged surface or a protruding knob-like design. The textured surface of these shells sits above a layer of mother-of-pearl, which is the root of their commercial exploitation. The Trochus shell also has a distinctive flat bottom and funnel shape.
  
  

Inhabitants

• The Trochus niloticus snail is the largest type of snail. It originates from the Indo-Pacific region, which spans from the east coast of Africa up to Asia and across to the east of New Zealand. The sea snail is a member of the Trochidea family, which is characterized as a top shell inhabitant. Like all top shell inhabitants, the Trochus niloticus is herbivorous and thrives in temperate waters.
  
  

Coral Reef Sanctuaries

• According to the World Fish Center, Micronesian Trochus shell sanctuaries have protected populations by prohibiting collection and fishing from the 1980s into the 2000s. The Trochus shell is sought for its inhabitant's meat as well as its valuable layer of mother-of-pearl. In 2011, the Marine Education Society of Australia claimed the pearl business from these shells generated $60 million a year. Sanctuaries are typically developed in coral reef locations where the Trochus has few natural predators. Sanctuary locations include Kosae in the Federal States of Micronesia and Koror, Palau.
  
  

Locality

• Inhabited Trochus shells are commonly found in deep and open seas, rocky shores and coral reefs. Vacant Trochus shells can be found on the shores of Africa and countries across the region of Australasia, including New Zealand, Australia, Asia and Papua New Guinea. A number of Trochus farms, which harvest the shells for their mother-of-pearl, operate in the temperate waters Northwestern Australia and Indonesia.