''Conus frigidus'', common name the frigid 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, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not at all.
Description
The color of the shell pale straw-color, violaceous at the base and the
apex. The
spire is three-grooved and shows revolving striae on the lower part of 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 ...
, which become granulose towards the base.
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 species occurs in the Red Sea and in the Indian Ocean off East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa:
Due to the historical ...
; in the Pacific Ocean and off Australia (the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia)
References
* Reeve, L.A. 1848. ''Monograph of the genus Conus''. supp. pls 1–3 in Reeve, L.A. (ed). Conchologia Iconica. London : L. Reeve & Co. Vol. 1.
* Küster, H.C., Martini, F.W. & Chemnitz, J.H. (eds) 1873. ''Systematisches Conchylien-Cabinet von Martini und Chemnitz''. Nürnberg : Bauer & Raspe.
* 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.
* 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.
* Tucker J.K. & Tenorio M.J. (2013) ''Illustrated catalog of the living cone shells''. 517 pp. Wellington, Florida: MdM Publishing.
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 Frigidus
frigidus
Gastropods described in 1848