''Conus spurius'', common name the alphabet 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 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 Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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 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. ;Subspecies: * ''Conus spurius aureofasciatus'' Rehder & Abbott, 1951(synonym: ''Lindaconus spurius aureofasciatus'' (Rehder & Abbott, 1951)) * ''Conus spurius baylei'' Jousseaume, 1872 (synonyms: ''Conus baylei'' Jousseaume, 1872; ''Lindaconus spurius baylei'' (Jousseaume, 1872) ) * ''Conus spurius lorenzianus'' Dillwyn, 1817 (synonyms: ''Conus flammeus'' Lamarck, 1810 (invalid: junior secondary homonym of ''Cucullus flammeus'' ''Röding, 1798''; ''C. phlogopus'' is a replacement name); ''Conus lorenzianus'' Dillwyn, 1817; ''Conus phlogopus'' Tomlin, 1937; ''Conus undatus'' Kiener, 1847; ''Lindaconus spurius lorenzianus'' (Dillwyn, 1817)) * ''Conus spurius spurius'' Gmelin, 1791 (synonym: ''Lindaconus spurius spurius'' (Gmelin, 1791))

Distribution

This marine species occurs from East Florida to

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

; also off the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

Description

The maximum recorded shell length is 80 mm.Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". '' PLoS ONE'' 5(1): e8776. . The shell is white, with revolving series of spots and irregular or cloud-like markings of orange, chestnut or chocolate, often forming interrupted bands. The base of the shell is grooved. The

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 are ...

shows a single broad sulcus.G.W. Tryon (1884) Manual of Conchology, structural and systematic, with illustrations of the species, vol. VI; Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences
(described as ''Conus proteus'')

Habitat

Minimum recorded depth is 0 m. Maximum recorded depth is 64 m.

References

* Rosenberg, G.; Moretzsohn, F.; García, E. F. (2009). ''Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico'', Pp. 579–699 in: Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas.
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 spurius 1.jpg, ''Conus spurius'' Gmelin, J.F., 1791 File:Conus spurius 2.jpg, ''Conus spurius'' Gmelin, J.F., 1791 File:Conus spurius 3.jpg, ''Conus spurius'' Gmelin, J.F., 1791

External links

The ''Conus'' Biodiversity website

Cone Shells – Knights of the Sea
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conus spurius

spurius Spurius is a small genus of passalid beetles from Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatema ...

Gastropods described in 1791 Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Gmelin