''Conus rolani'', common name Rolan's 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.
Description
The size of the shell varies between 37 mm and 70 mm.
Conantokin
Conantokins are a small family of helical peptides that are derived from the venom of predatory marine snails of the genus ''Conus''. Conantokins act as potent and specific NMDA receptor antagonist, antagonists of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor ...
-R1-A is a toxin derived from the venom of Conus rolani.
This sea snail ha
recently been studiedregarding its venom's toxic compounds that can replace the pain-killing effect of morphine.
Distribution
This marine species occurs off
Taiwan and
Papua New Guinea.
File:Conus rolani 1.jpg, ''Conus rolani'' Röckel, D., 1986
File:Conus rolani 2.jpg, ''Conus rolani'' Röckel, D., 1986
References
* Tucker J.K. & Tenorio M.J. (2009) ''Systematic classification of Recent and fossil conoidean gastropods.'' Hackenheim: Conchbooks. 296 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 websiteCone Shells - Knights of the Sea*
rolani
Gastropods described in 1986
{{conus-stub