Hawkwing conchs are relatively small members of the family Strombidae that that reach sizes up to five inches in length. Hawkwings live in warm waters from Florida to Brazil, are common in the Caribbean Sea, and are favorites of shell collectors. Like most other conchs, they live on grassy, sandy bottoms in not more than twenty feet deep water. Their species name, raninus, comes from the Latin word rana which means little frog and refers to the warty knobs on their shells, which are colored in distinctive gray, brown, and white patterns.