The « Sacred Chank » is a massive and extremely heavy turbinellid famous for being one of the eight auspicious symbols ('Ashtamangala') carrying religious and cultural significance in Hinduism and Buddhism. In both religions it is used as a ceremonial trumpet and libation vessel, often ornamented with gold or silver. It is called 'shankha' in Indian, meaning 'sacred conch', and the English name 'chank' was derived from this word. Sinistral specimens occurs but very rarely; in Hinduism a sinistral chank serves as the symbol of goddess Maa Lakshmi and is an extremely highly valued ceremonial item said to bring success, wealth, and purification. It is a shallow water dweller found around the depths of -5~50m, and is a predatory gastropod feeding mainly on polychaete worms. It has a very localised distribution in the Indian Ocean ranging only from southeastern India to Sri Lanka, and prefers a special type of sandy bottom with mud and organic material mixed in; which has very high abundance of polychaete worms. Typical shell length around 150mm. but extremely large specimens may approach 300mm. It is very variable in form and many names have been given to the different forms. Young specimens often carry brown spots on the dorsum. Fresh specimens are covered in a layer of very thick, brown, fur-like periostracum.