''Conus ambiguus'', common name the doubtful cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod

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 group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Conidae, the cone snails 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.

Description

''Conus ambiguus'' was originally discovered and described in both identical Latin and English language texts by

Lovell Augustus Reeve Lovell Augustus Reeve (19 April 1814 – 18 November 1865) was an English conchologist and publisher. Life Born at Ludgate Hill, London, on 19 April 1814, he was a son of Thomas Reeve, draper and mercer, by his wife Fanny Lovell. After attendi ...

in 1844. Reeve's type description reads as follows: The

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

of ''Conus ambiguus'' is whitish, with obscure, light brown bands, and longitudinal streaks. 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 a ...

is ornamented with arched brownish spots. The height of the shell is . Dimensions of the shell of type specimen is 39 x 22 mm."''Conus ambiguus'' Reeve, 1844"
The ''Conus'' Biodiversity website, accessed 20 March 2010. The type specimen is stored in

Zoölogisch Museum Amsterdam The Zoological Museum Amsterdam (ZMA) was a natural history museum located close to Oosterpark in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was part of the Faculty of Science, Mathematics and Computer Science (Science) of the University of Amsterdam. It was o ...

(Zoological Museum of the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

Distribution

The type locality was not specified by Reeve. This species occurs in the Atlantic Ocean off

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

(Senegal, Guinea Bissau) and

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

References

This article incorporates public domain text from references. Tryon G. W. (1884). ''

Manual of Conchology George Washington Tryon Jr. (20 May 1838 – 5 February 1888) was an American malacologist who worked at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. Biography George Washington Tryon was the son of Edward K. Tryon and Adeline Savidt. ...

, structural and systematic, with illustrations of the species.'' Volume 6. Conidae, Pleurotomidae. pag
13Plate 3
figure 41-42.
Kiener L.C. 1844-1850. Spécies général et iconographie des coquilles vivantes. Vol. 2. Famille des Enroulées. Genre Cone (Conus, Lam.), pp. 1-379, pl. 1-111 [pp. 1-48 (1846); 49-160 (1847); 161-192 (1848); 193-240 (1849); 241-[379](assumed to be 1850); plates 4,6 (1844); 2-3, 5, 7-32, 34-36, 38, 40-50 (1845); 33, 37, 39, 51-52, 54-56, 57-68, 74-77 (1846); 1, 69-73, 78-103 (1847); 104-106 (1848); 107 (1849); 108-111 (1850)]. Paris, Rousseau & J.B. Baillière

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

Cone Shells - Knights of the Sea
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conus Ambiguus ambiguus Gastropods described in 1844 Molluscs of the Atlantic Ocean Molluscs of Angola Invertebrates of West Africa