''Conus coccineus'',

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

the berry cone or the scarlet 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 ...

and their allies. Conus coccineus 3

Like all species within the genus ''Conus'', these snails are predatory and venomous. They are capable of "stinging" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not at all.

Description

The size of the shell varies between 27 mm and 62 mm. The thin shell has somewhat convex sides. It is encircled by striae, which are often minutely granular. The spire is moderate, sometimes gradate, striate, and obsoletely coronated. The color of the shell is orange pink, with a white central band, variegated with dark brown spots and blotches. The spire is usually maculated.G.W. Tryon (1884) Manual of Conchology, structural and systematic, with illustrations of the species, vol. VI; Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences
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Distribution

This marine species occurs off Indonesia,

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, Palawan, the Philippines, Samar, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Australia (the Northern Territory, Queensland)

References

* Gmelin J.F. 1791. Caroli a Linné. Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Lipsiae : Georg. Emanuel. Beer Vermes. Vol. 1(Part 6) pp. 3021–3910 * Broderip, W.J. & Sowerby, G.B. 1830. ''Observations on new or interesting Mollusca, contained for the most part, in the Museum of the Zoological Society'' (to be continued). Zoological Journal of London 5: 46–51 * 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. * Rippingale, O.H. & McMichael, D.F. 1961. ''Queensland and Great Barrier Reef Shells''. Brisbane : Jacaranda Press 210 pp. * Hinton, A. 1972. ''Shells of New Guinea and the Central Indo-Pacific''. Milton : Jacaranda Press xviii 94 pp. * Röckel, D., Korn, W. & Kohn, A.J. 1995. ''Manual of the Living Conidae. Volume 1: Indo-Pacific Region''. Wiesbaden : Hemmen 517 pp. * MacDonald & Co (1979). ''The MacDonald Encyclopedia of Shells''. MacDonald & Co. London & Sydney * Wilson, B. 1994. ''Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranch Gastropods''. Kallaroo, WA : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 2 370 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

The ''Conus'' Biodiversity website

Cone Shells – Knights of the Sea
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conus coccineus coccineus Gastropods described in 1791 Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Gmelin