''Conus virgatus'', common name the virgate Panama 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 size of the shell varies between 35 mm and 70 mm. The rather narrow shell is pinkish white, continuously but irregularly longitudinally strigate with chestnut.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 in the Pacific Ocean from Baja California, Mexico to North Peru. File:Conus virgatus 1.jpg, ''Conus virgatus'' Reeve, L.A., 1849 File:Conus virgatus 2.jpg, ''Conus virgatus'' Reeve, L.A., 1849 File:Conus virgatus 3.jpg, ''Conus virgatus'' Reeve, L.A., 1849

References

* Tucker J.K. & Tenorio M.J. (2013) ''Illustrated catalog of the living cone shells.'' 517 pp. Wellington, Florida: MdM Publishing. *

External links

The ''Conus'' Biodiversity website

Cone Shells – Knights of the Sea
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conus Virgatus virgatus Gastropods described in 1849