''Conus cancellatus'', common name the cancellate cone, 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 ''Conus'', these snails are
predatory and
venomous. They are capable of "stinging" humans; live ones should be handled carefully or not at all.
;Subspecies:
* ''Conus cancellatus capricorni''
Van Mol, Tursch & Kempf, 1967
* ''Conus cancellatus finkli''
Petuch, 1987 (synonym: ''Conasprelloides cancellatus finkli''
(Petuch, 1987) )
Distribution
This species occurs in the
Caribbean Sea, the
Gulf of Mexico and the
Lesser Antilles.
Description
The maximum recorded
shell length is 80 mm.
[Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". '' PLoS ONE'' 5(1): e8776. .]
The pear-shaped shell is broad and angulated at the shoulder, contracted towards the base. The
body whorl
The body whorl is part of the morphology of the shell in those gastropod mollusks that possess a coiled shell. The term is also sometimes used in a similar way to describe the shell of a cephalopod mollusk.
In gastropods
In gastropods, the b ...
is closely sulcate throughout, the sulci striate. The intervening ridges are rounded. The
spire carinate and concavely elevated. Its
apex is acute and striate. The color of the shell is whitish, obscurely doubly banded with clouds of light chestnut. The spire is maculated with the same.
[ George Washington Tryon, Manual of Conchology, vol. VI, p. 74-75; 1879]
Habitat
Minimum recorded depth is 26 m.
Maximum recorded depth is 110 m.
References
* Filmer R.M. (2001). ''A Catalogue of Nomenclature and Taxonomy in the Living Conidae 1758 – 1998''. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden. 388pp.
* Rosenberg, G., F. Moretzsohn, and E. F. García. 2009. ''Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico'', pp. 579–699 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas
* 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.
* Liu J.Y.
uiyu(ed.). (2008). ''Checklist of marine biota of China seas''. China Science Press. 1267 pp.
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
*
Cone Shells – Knights of the SeaHolotype of ''Conus cancellatus capricorni'' in MNHN, Paris
Gallery
File:Conus cancellatus 3.jpg, ''Conus cancellatus''
File:Conus cancellatus finkli.jpg, ''Conus cancellatus finkli'', holotype at the Smithsonian Institution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conus cancellatus
cancellatus
Gastropods described in 1792