Conus is a genus of venomous and predatory .[Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2015). Conus Linnaeus, 1758. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=137813 on 2015-11-12] Prior to 2009, it included all cone snail species but is now more precisely defined.
Description
The thick shell of species in the genus
Conus sensu stricto, is obconic, with the whorls enrolled upon themselves. The spire is short, smooth or tuberculated. The narrow aperture is elongated with parallel margins and is truncated at the base. The operculum is very small relative to the size of the shell. It is corneous, narrowly elongated, with an apical nucleus, and the impression of the
Skeletal muscle attachment varies from one-half to two-thirds of the inner surface. The outer lip shows a slight sutural sinus.
[ G.W. Tryon (1884) Manual of Conchology, structural and systematic, with illustrations of the species, vol. VI; Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences]
Distribution and habitat
Species in the genus
Conus sensu stricto can be found in the tropical and subtropical seas of the world, at depths ranging from the
sublittoral (c. 200 m) to 1,000 m (656 to 3,280 ft). They are very variable in some of their characters, such as the tuberculation of the spire and
body whorl, striae, colors and the pattern of coloring.
The oldest known fossil of Conus is from the lower Eocene, about 55 million years ago.
See also
List of Conus species
-
Röckel, D., Korn, W. & Kohn, A.J. 1995. Manual of the Living Conidae. Volume 1: Indo-Pacific Region. Wiesbaden : Hemmen 517 pp.
-
Filmer R.M. (2001). A Catalogue of Nomenclature and Taxonomy in the Living Conidae 1758 - 1998. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden. 388pp.
-
Tucker J.K. (2009). Recent cone species database. September 4, 2009 Edition
-
Tucker J.K. & Tenorio M.J. (2009) Systematic classification of Recent and fossil conoidean gastropods. Hackenheim: Conchbooks. 296 pp
-
Monnier E., Limpalaër L., Robin A. & Roux C. (2018). A taxonomic iconography of living Conidae. Harxheim: ConchBooks. 2 vols. 1205 pp.page(s): 345
-
Puillandre N., Duda T.F., Meyer C., Olivera B.M. & Bouchet P. (2015). One, four or 100 genera? A new classification of the cone snails. Journal of Molluscan Studies. 81: 1-23
Further reading
External links
