''Conasprella scaripha'' is a species of
sea snail
Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...
, a marine
gastropod
The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda ().
This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...
mollusk in the
family Conidae
Conidae, with the current common name of "cone snails", is a taxonomic family (previously subfamily) of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Conoidea.
The 2014 classification of the superfamily Conoidea, groups onl ...
, the
cone snails
A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex.
A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines co ...
and their allies.
Like all species within the genus ''Conasprella'', these cone snails are
predatory and
venomous. They are capable of "stinging" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not at all.
Description
The height of the shell attains 41 mm, its diameter 15 mm.
(Original description) The biconic shell is attenuated in front, slightly swelling in front of the shoulder, which is sharply carinate. The
spire is low and consists of about eight
whorl
A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs).
Whorls in nature
File:Photograph and axial plane floral ...
s without the (lost) protoconch. The summit of the whorls between the suture and the carina is excavated and smooth. The walls of the shell are rather thin. The outer lip is nearly straight. The ground-color is yellowish white covered with a thin smooth yellowish periostracum. The pattern of fluctuating longitudinal streaks of yellowish brown, which by their zigzag direction and
anastomosis
An anastomosis (, plural anastomoses) is a connection or opening between two things (especially cavities or passages) that are normally diverging or branching, such as between blood vessels, leaf#Veins, leaf veins, or streams. Such a connection m ...
leave roughly triangular patches of white of small size all over the shell, except in the middle, where a tendency to the usual paler girdle is manifest. Near the
siphonal canal
The siphonal canal is an anatomical feature of the shells of certain groups of sea snails within the clade Neogastropoda. Some sea marine gastropods have a soft tubular anterior extension of the mantle called a siphon through which water is ...
there are about sixteen paired prominent spiral threads, the intervals between the pairs being more or less channeled. The sutural sinus and the siphonal canal are rather deep.
W.H. Dall, Summary of the shells of the genus Conus from the Pacific coast of Americain the U. S. National Museum; Proceedings of the United States National Museum. vol 38 (1910)
/ref>
Distribution
This marine species occurs in the Pacific Ocean off the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Costa Rica at a depth of 121 m.
References
* Filmer R.M. (2001). ''A Catalogue of Nomenclature and Taxonomy in the Living Conidae 1758–1998''. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden. 388pp.
* Tenorio M.J., Tucker J.K. & Chaney H.W. (2012) ''The families Conilithidae and Conidae. The cones of the Eastern Pacific.'' In: G.T. Poppe & K. Groh (eds), A conchological iconography. Hackenheim: Conchbooks.
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
External links
The ''Conus'' Biodiversity website
*
scaripha
Gastropods described in 1910
{{Conidae-stub