Conus marmoreus

Conus marmoreus
A live Conus marmoreus feeding on Monetaria caputserpentis.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Clade: Caenogastropoda
Clade: Hypsogastropoda
Clade: Neogastropoda
Superfamily: Conoidea
Family: Conidae
Genus: Conus
Species: C. marmoreus
Binomial name
Conus marmoreus
Linnaeus, 1758[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Conus (Conus) marmoreus Linnaeus, 1758 · accepted, alternate representation
  • Conus crosseanus Bernardi, 1861
  • Conus crosseanus var. lineata Crosse, 1878 (invalid: junior homonym of Conus lineatus Hwass in Bruguière, 1792)
  • Conus maculatus Perry, 1811
  • Conus marmoreus var. granulatus G.B. Sowerby I, 1839 (invalid: junior homonym of Conus granulatus Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Conus pseudomarmoreus Crosse, 1875
  • Conus (Conus) proarchithalassus Röding, P.F., 1798
  • Conus suffusus Sowerby II, 1870
  • Conus suffusus var. noumeensis Crosse, 1872
  • Cucullus proarchithalassus Röding, 1798

Conus marmoreus, common name the "marbled cone", is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails, cone shells or cones. It is the type species for the Conus genus. This is a species which is believed to feed mostly on marine molluscs including other cone snails.[3][2] This snail is venomous, like all cone snails.

The subspecies: Conus marmoreus bandanus Hwass in Bruguière, 1792 is a synonym of Conus bandanus Hwass in Bruguière, 1792 [2]

Distribution

This species occurs in the Indian Ocean off Chagos and Madagascar, in the Bay of Bengal off India; in the western part of the Pacific Ocean to Fiji and the Marshall Islands; off Australia (Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia).

Shell description

The size of an adult shell can vary between 30 mm and 150 mm. The flattish spire is nodular. The outer lip flares towards posterior. In this species, the distinctive, reticulated colour pattern can range from black with white dots, to orange with white reticulations, so arranged as to expose the white in rounded triangular large spots. The aperture is white or light pink.[4] [2]

In art

In 1650 Rembrandt portrayed this cone in an etching as "De schelp" ("The shell").

"De schelp" ("The shell"), etching by Rembrandt

References

  1. Linnaeus, C., 1758. Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, 10th ed., 1
  2. 1 2 3 4 Bouchet, P. (2015). Conus marmoreus Linnaeus, 1758. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=215457 on 2015-10-30
  3. "Conus marmoreus". Penelope.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2013-07-12.
  4. George Washington Tryon, Manual of Conchology vol. VI, p. 7; 1879
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