''Conus balteatus'', common name the Mauritian 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.
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.
The subspecies: ''Conus balteatus pigmentatus''
A. Adams & Reeve, 1848 is accepted as ''Conus balteatus''
G. B. Sowerby I, 1833
Description
The size of an adult shell varies between 13 mm and 33 mm. The shell is olive-brown or brown violaceous, with a more or less irregular white band below the middle, and another one below the tuberculated
spire. The interior of the
aperture is tinged with violet.
[ George Washington Tryon, Manual of Conchology, vol. VI, p. 21; 1879]
Distribution
This species occurs in the Indian Ocean off the
Mascarene Basin and in the Western Pacific Ocean (New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea)
Gallery
Below are several color forms and one subspecies:
File:Conus balteatus 1.jpg, ''Conus balteatus'' Sowerby, G.B. I, 1833
File:Conus balteatus 2.jpg, ''Conus balteatus'' Sowerby, G.B. I, 1833
File:Conus balteatus pigmentatus 1.jpg, ''Conus balteatus pigmentatus'' Adams, A. & L.A. Reeve, 1848
References
* Smith, E. A. 1877. ''Descriptions of new species of Conidae and Terebridae''. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (4) 19: 222–231.
* Drivas, J. & M. Jay (1988). ''Coquillages de La Réunion et de l'île Maurice''
* Filmer R.M. (2001).'' A Catalogue of Nomenclature and Taxonomy in the Living Conidae 1758–1998''. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden. 388pp
* Bozzetti L. (2007) ''Conus olgiatii (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia: Conidae) nuova specie dal Madagascar Sud-Occidentale''. Malacologia Mostra Mondiale 54: 16–17.
* Bozzetti L. (2008) ''Conus anosyensis (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia: Conidae) nuova specie dal Madagascar Sud-Orientale''. Malacologia Mostra Mondiale 58: 15
* Tucker J.K. (2009). Recent cone species database. September 4, 2009 Edition
* Bozzetti L. (2012) ''Two new species of Conidae (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia) from Southern and South-Western Madagascar.'' Malacologia Mostra Mondiale 74: 4-6.
ebruary 2012Puillandre 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 Balteatus
balteatus
Gastropods described in 1833