''Conus catus'', common name the cat cone, is a species of
sea snail, a marine
gastropod mollusk
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Conidae, 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
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...
and
venomous
Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...
. They are capable of "stinging" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not at all.
Description
The size of an adult shell varies between 24 mm and 52 mm. The shell is bulbous, with a convex, striate
spire
A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires a ...
. The
body whorl is striate, the striae rounded, usually obsolete above, granular below, olive, chestnut-, chocolate- or pink-brown, variously marbled and flecked with white, often faintly white-banded below the middle. In the variety ''nigropunctatus'', the shell is colored as above and encircled by series of chocolate-colored dots.
George Washington Tryon
George Washington Tryon Jr. (20 May 1838 – 5 February 1888) was an American malacologist who worked at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.
Biography
George Washington Tryon was the son of Edward K. Tryon and Adeline Savidt ...
, Manual of Conchology, vol. VI, p. 63; 1884
Distribution
This species occurs in the
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...
, the Indian Ocean off the
Aldabra Atoll,
Chagos
The Chagos Archipelago () or Chagos Islands (formerly the Bassas de Chagas, and later the Oil Islands) is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about 500 kilometres (310 mi) south of the Maldives arc ...
,
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
,
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...
,
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
and
KwaZuluNatal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...
; in the tropical Indo-West Pacific Region (Papua New Guinea, Marquesas, New Caledonia); off Australia (
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...
,
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
and
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
).
References
* Bruguière, M. 1792. ''Encyclopédie Méthodique ou par ordre de matières. Histoire naturelle des vers.'' Paris : Panckoucke Vol. 1 i–xviii, 757 pp.
* Röding, P.F. 1798. ''Museum Boltenianum sive Catalogus cimeliorum e tribus regnis naturae quae olim collegerat Joa.'' Hamburg : Trappii 199 pp
* Reeve, L.A. 1843. ''Monograph of the genus Conus. pls 1–39'' in Reeve, L.A. (ed.). Conchologica Iconica. London : L. Reeve & Co. Vol. 1.
* Smith, E.A. 1891. ''On a collection of marine shells from Aden, with some remarks upon the relationship of the Molluscan Fauna of the Red Sea and the Mediterranean''. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1891(3): 390–436
* Dautzenberg, P. 1937. ''Gastéropodes marins. 3-Famille Conidae';'' Résultats Scientifiques du Voyage aux Indes Orientales Néerlandaises de LL. AA. RR. Le Prince et la Princesse Lé Belgique. Mémoires du Musée Royal d'Histoire Naturelle de Belgique 2(18): 284 pp, 3 pls
* Sowerby, G.B. (3rd) 1887. ''Thesaurus Conchyliorum. Supplements to the Monograph of Conus and Voluta. Vol. 5 249–279'', pls 29–36.
* Hedley, C. 1899. ''The Mollusca of Funafuti. Part 1. Gastropoda''. Memoirs of the Australian Museum 3(7): 395–488, 49 text figs
* Dautzenberg, Ph. (1929). ''Mollusques testacés marins de Madagascar.'' Faune des Colonies Francaises, Tome III
* Demond, J. 1957. ''Micronesian reef associated gastropods''. Pacific Science 11(3): 275–341, fig. 2, pl. 1
* Gillett, K. & McNeill, F. 1959. ''The Great Barrier Reef and Adjacent Isles: a comprehensive survey for visitor, naturalist and photographer.'' Sydney : Coral Press 209 pp.
* Maes, V.O. 1967. ''The littoral marine mollusks of Cocos-Keeling Islands (Indian Ocean).'' Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 119: 93–217
* Wilson, B.R. & Gillett, K. 1971. ''Australian Shells: illustrating and describing 600 species of marine gastropods found in Australian waters.'' Sydney : Reed Books 168 pp.
* Hinton, A. 1972. ''Shells of New Guinea and the Central Indo-Pacific.'' Milton : Jacaranda Press xviii 94 pp.
* Salvat, B. & Rives, C. 1975. ''Coquillages de Polynésie''. Tahiti : Papéete Les editions du pacifique, pp. 1–391.
* Kay, E.A. 1979. ''Hawaiian Marine Shells. Reef and shore fauna of Hawaii. Section 4 : Mollusca''. Honolulu, Hawaii : Bishop Museum Press Bernice P. Bishop Museum Special Publication Vol. 64(4) 653 pp.
* Cernohorsky, W.O. 1978. ''Tropical Pacific Marine Shells''. Sydney : Pacific Publications 352 pp., 68 pls.
* Wilson, B. 1994. ''Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranch Gastropods.'' Kallaroo, WA : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 2 370 pp.
* 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.
* Filmer R.M. (2012) ''Taxonomic review of the Conus spectrum, Conus stramineus and Conus collisus complexes (Gastropoda – Conidae). Part III: The Conus collisus complex''. Visaya 3(6): 4–47
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
File:Conus catus 1.jpg, ''Conus catus'' Hwass in Bruguière, J.G., 1792
File:Conus catus 2.jpg, ''Conus catus'' Hwass in Bruguière, J.G., 1792
File:Conus catus 3.jpg, ''Conus catus'' Hwass in Bruguière, J.G., 1792
External links
The ''Conus'' Biodiversity website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conus catus
catus
Gastropods described in 1792