Conus litteratus, common name the lettered cone, is a species of sophisticated predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snail, cone shells or cones.[2]
| Conus litteratus | |
|---|---|
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| Two views of a shell of Conus litteratus | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Order: | Neogastropoda |
| Superfamily: | Conoidea |
| Family: | Conidae |
| Genus: | Conus |
| Species: | C. litteratus
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| Binomial name | |
| Conus litteratus | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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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 edit
The size of the shell varies between 24 mm and 186 mm. The thick, heavy shell has a flat spire. Its color is cream with 2-3 axial bands of yellow or orange bands dotted with black.
Habitat edit
It can be found in sand in and among coral in shallow water.
Distribution edit
This is a widespread Indo-Pacific species, occurring in the Indian Ocean off Tanzania, Madagascar, the Mascarene Basin.
Life habits edit
This cone species hunts and eats marine worms.
References edit
- ^ Duda, T. (2013). "Conus litteratus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T192719A2148620. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T192719A2148620.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ a b Bouchet, P. (2015). Conus litteratus Linnaeus, 1758. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=215522 on 2015-10-21
- 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 Archived 2017-06-13 at the Wayback Machine
- 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 edit
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102 mm, Australia -
69.4 mm, Philippines -
92.6 mm, Philippines
External links edit
- Conus litteratus Picture Archived 2011-04-14 at the Wayback Machine - An image of this species
- Conus litteratus - Information on this species
- Cone Shells - Knights of the Sea
- "Strategoconus litteratus". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 16 January 2019.