''Conus retifer'', common name the netted 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 ...

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 25 mm and 69 mm. The shell is pear-shaped, with revolving striae. Its color is reticulated orange-brown with large and small triangular white patches, and zigzag longitudinal chocolate markings, mostly interrupted so as to form one or two bands. The interior of the aperture is light violaceous.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 has a wide distribution in the tropical Indo-West Pacific: Mozambique, Tanzania, the Mascarene Islands, Indo-China, Indo-Malaysia, Oceania; and off Australia ( Christmas Island)

References

* Menke, K.T. 1829. ''Verzeichniss der ansehnlischen Conchylien-Sammlung der Freiherrn von der Malsburg''. Pyrmonti : Publisher not known pp. i-vi, 1–123. * Sowerby, G.B. (1st) 1834. ''Conus''. pls 54–57 in Sowerby, G.B. (2nd) (ed). The Conchological Illustrations or coloured figures of all the hitherto unfigured recent shells. London : G.B. Sowerby (2nd). * Sowerby, G.B. (1st) 1841. ''The Conchological Illustrations or coloured figures of all the hitherto unfigured recent shells.'' London : G.B. Sowerby (2nd) 200 pls. * Salvat, B. & Rives, C. 1975. ''Coquillages de Polynésie.'' Tahiti : Papéete Les editions du pacifique, pp. 1–391. * Cernohorsky, W.O. 1978. ''Tropical Pacific Marine Shells.'' Sydney : Pacific Publications 352 pp., 68 pls. * 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. * Drivas, J.; Jay, M. (1987). ''Coquillages de La Réunion et de l'Île Maurice.'' Collection Les Beautés de la Nature. Delachaux et Niestlé: Neuchâtel. . 159 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.
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

The ''Conus'' Biodiversity website

Cone Shells - Knights of the Sea
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conus Retifer retifer Gastropods described in 1829