''Conus obscurus'', common name the obscure 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 es ...

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 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, group ...

, 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 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 t ...

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 ...

. They are capable of "stinging" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not at all.

Description

The size of an adult shell varies between 20 mm and 44 mm. This small to medium-sized shell is shaped like a small '' Conus geographus'' but with smaller coronations on the shoulder. The shell is subcylindrical, violaceous, with chestnut blotches, forming two interrupted bands, and faint lines of minute chestnut and white articulations. The

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An ...

is very wide anteriorly caused by a concave lower half of the

columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (; Arabic: , 4 – ) was a prominent writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His ' in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture, together with the ...

George Washington Tryon 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. ...

, Manual of Conchology vol. VI, p. 88; 1884 (described as ''Conus violaceus'')

Distribution

This species occurs in the Indian Ocean off

Aldabra Aldabra is the world's second-largest coral atoll, lying south-east of the continent of Africa. It is part of the Aldabra Group of islands in the Indian Ocean that are part of the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, with a distance of 1,120 k ...

, the

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

Basin and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

; in the tropical Indo-Pacific to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

and

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = "Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of French ...

; off the Philippines and Australia (

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Au ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

References

* Sowerby, G.B. (1st) 1833. ''Conus''. pls 24–37 in Sowerby, G.B. (2nd) (ed). The Conchological Illustrations or coloured figures of all the hitherto unfigured recent shells. London : G.B. Sowerby (2nd). * Bartsch, P. & Rehder, H.A. 1943. ''New cones from the Hawaiian Islands.'' Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 56: 85–88 * Habe, T. 1964. ''Shells of the Western Pacific in color''. Osaka : Hoikusha Vol. 2 233 pp., 66 pls. * Maes, V.O. 1967. ''The littoral marine mollusks of Cocos-Keeling Islands (Indian Ocean).'' Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 119: 93–217 * 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. * Salvat, B. & Rives, C. 1975. ''Coquillages de Polynésie.'' Tahiti : Papéete Les editions du pacifique, pp. 1–391. * Kay, E.A. 1979. ''Hawaiian Marine Shells. Reef and shore fauna of Hawaii. Section 4 : Mollusca''. Honolulu, Hawaii : Bishop Museum Press Bernice P. Bishop Museum Special Publication Vol. 64(4) 653 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.
Petit, R. E. (2009). ''George Brettingham Sowerby, I, II & III: their conchological publications and molluscan taxa''. Zootaxa. 2189: 1–218
* Tucker J.K. & Tenorio M.J. (2009) ''Systematic classification of Recent and fossil conoidean gastropods''. Hackenheim: Conchbooks. 296 pp. * Tucker J.K. (2009). ''Recent cone species database''. September 4, 2009 Edition
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 obscurus 1.jpg, ''Conus obscurus'' Sowerby, G.B. I, 1833 File:Conus obscurus 2.jpg, ''Conus obscurus'' Sowerby, G.B. I, 1833 File:Conus obscurus 3.jpg, ''Conus obscurus'' Sowerby, G.B. I, 1833 File:Conus obscurus 003.jpg, Holotype of the synonym ''Conus halitropus''

External links

The ''Conus'' Biodiversity website
*
Cone Shells – Knights of the Sea
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conus Obscurus obscurus Gastropods described in 1833 Taxa named by George Brettingham Sowerby I