With its spiraling shell reaching up to an impressive 40 cm in length, the Atlantic Triton’s Trumpet is the largest gastropod found in the Mediterranean. It is a necrophagous and carnivorous species, feeding primarily on echinoderms (such as starfish). The body of the mollusk is a deep orange color, and it has long appendages with clearly noticeable eyes at the tips.

Today it is a protected species!!!

Historical Curiosity

Throughout history, the use of a large spiral-shaped shell as a wind instrument represents one of the most archaic and natural ways of producing sound. It isn’t surprising then, that the shell of the Triton’s Trumpet was used in antiquity to make musical instruments, such as horns. Hence its instrument-inspired name! In Sicily, for example, such an instrument was called brogna and was used in the daily workplace, during rituals, and in festive ceremonies. Even today, the shell is used as an important ritual instrument on the occasion of the Sicilian Carnival, which takes place in Saponara on Mardis Gras.

But the Triton isn’t the only massive seashell we spotted in the sea of Santa Cesarea Terme: find out more about the Giant Tun!