''Conus magus'', common name the magical cone, is a species of

sea snail Sea snails are slow-moving marine (ocean), marine gastropod Mollusca, molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the Taxonomic classification, taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguishe ...

, a marine

gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...

in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies. Like all species within the genus ''Conus'', these snails are

predatory Predation is a biological interaction in which 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 ...

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 ...

. Their venom contains

conotoxin A conotoxin is one of a group of neurotoxic peptides isolated from the venom of the marine cone snail, genus '' Conus''. Conotoxins, which are peptides consisting of 10 to 30 amino acid residues, typically have one or more disulfide bonds. C ...

s which have powerful

neurotoxic Neurotoxicity is a form of toxicity in which a biological, chemical, or physical agent produces an adverse effect on the structure or function of the central and/or peripheral nervous system. It occurs when exposure to a substance – specifical ...

effects. Given that they are capable of

stinging Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-ear ...

humans, live cone shells should be handled with great care or preferably not at all. The variety ''Conus magus'' var. ''decurtatus'' Dautzenberg, 1910 is a synonym of '' Conus striolatus'' Kiener, 1848

Description

The size of an adult shell varies between 16 mm and 94 mm. This common species is very variable in pattern and shade of coloring and embraces a large synonymy. The moderate

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. Spire ...

is striate. The

body whorl The body whorl is part of the morphology (biology), morphology of the gastropod shell, shell in those gastropod mollusks that possess a coiled shell. The term is also sometimes used in a similar way to describe the shell of a cephalopod mollusk ...

is long and rather cylindrical, closely striate below. The color of the shell is white, clouded with bluish ash, orange-brown, chestnut or chocolate, everywhere encircled by narrow chocolate interrupted lines, often separated into somewhat distant dots The middle of the body whorl is usually irregularly fasciate with white. The spire is tessellated with chestnut or chocolate.

Venom use

Ziconotide Ziconotide, sold under the brand name Prialt, also called intrathecal ziconotide (ITZ) because of its administration route, is an atypical analgesic agent for the amelioration of severe and chronic pain. Derived from '' Conus magus'', a cone sn ...

is a chemical derived from the ''Conus magus'' toxin that acts as a painkiller with a potency 1000 times that of morphine. Discovered by Dr.

Baldomero Olivera Baldomero Olivera (born 1941) is a Filipino chemist known for discovery of many cone snail toxins important for neuroscience. These molecules, called conotoxins, led to a breakthrough in the study of ion channels and neuromuscular synapses. He dis ...

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

, it was developed for treatment of chronic and intractable pain caused by

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

neurological disorder Neurological disorders represent a complex array of medical conditions that fundamentally disrupt the functioning of the nervous system. These disorders affect the brain, spinal cord, and nerve networks, presenting unique diagnosis, treatment, and ...

s and other maladies, and was approved by the

U.S. Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

in December 2004 under the name Prialt. Ziconotide works by blocking

calcium channel A calcium channel is an ion channel which shows selective permeability to calcium ions. It is sometimes synonymous with voltage-gated calcium channel, which are a type of calcium channel regulated by changes in membrane potential. Some calcium chan ...

s in pain-transmitting nerve cells, rendering them unable to transmit pain signals to the brain. It is administered through injection into the spinal fluid.

Distribution

This marine species occurs in the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

and in the Indian Ocean off

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

and the

Mascarene The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Their na ...

Basin. It is also found over a wide area of the Pacific Ocean from

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and to the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...

Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands (), is a French island territorial collectivity, collectivity in the Oceania, South Pacific, situated between Tuvalu to the northwest, Fiji to the southwest, Tonga t ...

and

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

, but mainly centered on the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

; off Australia (

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

References

Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentius Salvius: Holmiae. ii, 824 pp
* Bernardi, A. B., 1860. ''Description d'une espèce nouvelle.'' Journal de Conchyliologie 8: 331–332 * Bruguière, M. 1792. ''Encyclopédie Méthodique ou par ordre de matières. Histoire naturelle des vers.'' Paris : Panckoucke Vol. 1 i–xviii, 757 pp. * Röding, P.F. 1798. ''Museum Boltenianum sive Catalogus cimeliorum e tribus regnis naturae quae olim collegerat Joa''. Hamburg : Trappii 199 pp. * Swainson, W. 1822. ''Zoological Illustrations; or Original Figures and Descriptions of new, rare, or interesting Animals, selected chiefly from the classes of Ornithology, Entomology, and Conchology, and arranged on the principles of Cuvier and other modern zoologists. Series 1''. London : Baldwin, Cradock & Joy Vol. 3 pls 84–134. * Reeve, L.A. 1843. ''Descriptions of new species of shells figured in the 'Conchologia Iconica'.'' Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 11: 169–197 * Reeve, L.A. 1849. ''Monograph of the genus Conus''. pls 4–9 in Reeve, L.A. (ed). Conchologia Iconica. London : L. Reeve & Co. Vol. 1. * Adams, A. 1854. ''Descriptions of new species of the Genus Conus, from the collection of Hugh Cuming, Esq.'' Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1853(21): 116–119 * Sowerby, G.B. 1857–1858. ''Monograph of the genus Conus''. 1–56, pls 1–24 in Thesaurus conchyliorum or monographs of genera of shells. London : Sowerby Vol. 3. * Bernardi, M. 1860. ''Descriptions d'espèces nouvelles''. Journal de Conchyliologie 8: 332 * Boivin, A. 1864. ''Descriptions de cinq espèces nouvelles du genre Conus''. Journal de Conchyliologie 12: 33–40 * Crosse, H. 1865. ''Description de cones nouveaux provenant de la collection Cuming.'' Journal de Conchyliologie 13: 299–315 * Sowerby, G.B. 1866. ''Monograph of the genus Conus''. pp. 328–329 in Thesaurus Conchyliorum, or monographs of genera of shells. London : Sowerby, G.B. Vol. 3. * Weinkauff, H.C. 1875. ''Conus''. pp. 311–316 in Küster, H.C., Martini, F.W. & Chemnitz, J.H. (eds). Systematisches Conchylien-Cabinet von Martini und Chemnitz. Nürnberg : Bauer & Raspe Vol. 4. * Smith, E.A. 1876. ''A list of marine shells, chiefly from the Solomon Islands, with descriptions of several new species.'' Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology 12: 535–562, pl. 30 * Oostingh, C.H. 1925. ''Report on a collection of recent shells from Obi and Halmahera, Molluccas.'' Mededeelingen van de Landbouwhoogeschool te Wageningen 29(1): 1–362 * Demond, J. 1957. ''Micronesian reef associated gastropods.'' Pacific Science 11(3): 275–341, fig. 2, pl. 1 * Gillett, K. & McNeill, F. 1959. T''he Great Barrier Reef and Adjacent Isles: a comprehensive survey for visitor, naturalist and photographer''. Sydney : Coral Press 209 pp. * Rippingale, O.H. & McMichael, D.F. 1961. ''Queensland and Great Barrier Reef Shells.'' Brisbane : Jacaranda Press 210 pp. * Cotton, B.C. 1964. ''Molluscs of Arnhem Land.'' Records of the American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land 4 (Zoology): 9–43 * Wilson, B.R. & Gillett, K. 1971. ''Australian Shells: illustrating and describing 600 species of marine gastropods found in Australian waters''. Sydney : Reed Books 168 pp. * Hinton, A. 1972. ''Shells of New Guinea and the Central Indo-Pacific''. Milton : Jacaranda Press xviii 94 pp. * Shikama, T. 1977. ''Descriptions of new and noteworthy icGastropoda from Western Oceans''. Science Reports of the Yokohama National University 24(2): 9–23 * Cernohorsky, W.O. 1978. ''Tropical Pacific Marine Shells''. Sydney : Pacific Publications 352 pp., 68 pls. * Motta, A.J. da 1982. ''Seventeen new cone shell names (Gastropoda: Conidae).'' Publicaçoes Ocasionais da Sociedade Portuguesa de Malacologia 1: 1–26 * Motta, A.J. da 1983. ''Two new species of the genus Conus (Gastropoda: Conidae)''. Publicaçoes Ocasionais da Sociedade Portuguesa de Malacologia 2: 1–9 * Vine, P. (1986). ''Red Sea Invertebrates''. Immel Publishing, London. 224 pp * Wilson, B. 1994. ''Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranch Gastropods''. Kallaroo, WA : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 2 370 pp. *-Röckel, D., Korn, W. & Kohn, A.J. 1995. ''Manual of the Living Conidae. Volume 1: Indo-Pacific Region''. Wiesbaden : Hemmen 517 pp. * Filmer R.M. (2001). ''A Catalogue of Nomenclature and Taxonomy in the Living Conidae 1758–1998.'' Backhuys Publishers, Leiden. 388pp * Tucker J.K. (2009). ''Recent cone species database''. 4 September 2009 Edition * 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

Gallery

File:Conus magus 1.jpg, ''Conus magus'' Linnaeus, C., 1758 File:Conus magus 2.jpg, ''Conus magus'' Linnaeus, C., 1758 File:Conus magus 3.jpg, ''Conus magus'' Linnaeus, C., 1758 File:Conus magus 4.jpg, ''Conus magus'' Linnaeus, C., 1758

External links

The ''Conus'' Biodiversity website
*
Cone Shells – Knights of the Sea

Holotype in MNHN, Paris
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conus Magus

magus Magi (), or magus (), is the term for priests in Zoroastrianism and earlier Iranian religions. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius the Great, known as the Behistun Inscription. Old Per ...

Molluscs of the Indian Ocean Molluscs of the Pacific Ocean Gastropods described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus