See text Strombidae, commonly known as the true conchs, is a taxonomic family of medium-sized to very large sea snails in the superfamily Stromboidea, and the Epifamily Neostromboidae.

This ideology was probably born in the writings of Lamarck, who classified strombids alongside other supposedly carnivorous snails, and was copied in this by subsequent authors.

[9][10] Unlike most snails, which glide slowly across the substrate on their feet, strombid gastropods have a characteristic means of locomotion, using their pointed, sickle-shaped, horny operculum to propel themselves forward in a so-called leaping motion.

In a 2005 monograph, Simone proposed a cladogram based on an extensive morphoanatomical analysis of representatives of the Aporrhaidae, Strombidae, Xenophoridae, and Struthiolariidae.

[7] In his analysis, Simone recognized the Strombidae as a monophyletic taxon supported by 13 synapomorphies (traits that are shared by two or more taxa and their most recent common ancestor), comprising at least eight distinct genera.

He considered the genus Terebellum as the most basal taxon, distinguished from the remaining strombids by 13 synapomorphies, including a rounded foot.

[7] Though the genus Tibia was left out of the analysis, Simone regarded it as probably closely related to Terebellum, apparently due to some well known morphological similarities between them.

[9] Despite issues with individual gene cladograms, the combined analyses were statistically congruent and reasonably represented the phylogeny of Strombus and Lambis.

[9] In 2019, Maxwell and colleagues proposed a new crown clade known as Neostromboidea to differentiate Strombidae, Rostellariidae, and Seraphsidae from their sister families Struthiolariidae and Aporrhaidae.

[18] This revision was based on distinct morphological similarities, including the position of the eye, foot shape, radular configuration, and shell structures.

Members of the proposed clade Neostromboidea are characterized by having eyes situated at the tips of peduncles, with a cephalic tentacle located near its distal end.

These diversification events are often linked to the eastward shift of the global biodiversity hotspot from the Tethys region to its current location in the Indo-West Pacific.

The resulting increase in habitat complexity contributed to elevated cladogenesis rates among many benthic groups, including strombids, which are closely associated with seagrass beds and coral rubble.

Since before the Age of Discovery, strombid shells were used as wind instruments,[20] and were later used in the lime industry, in handicrafts, as souvenirs, and even in jewelry.