Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

Conus

Genus of molluscs From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Conus
Remove ads
This article is about the genus of snails. For the continguous area of the United States (CONUS), see Contiguous United States. For people with the surname "Conus", and other uses, see Conus (disambiguation).

Conus is a genus of venomous and predatory cone snails.[1] Prior to 2009, it included all cone snail species but is now more precisely defined.

Quick Facts Scientific classification, Type species ...
Remove ads
Thumb
Fossil Conus pelagicus from the Pliocene of Cyprus
Remove ads

Description

The thick shell of species in the genus Conus sensu stricto, is obconic, with the whorls enrolled upon themselves. The spire is short, smooth or tuberculated. The narrow aperture is elongated with parallel margins and is truncated at the base. The operculum is very small relative to the size of the shell. It is corneous, narrowly elongated, with an apical nucleus, and the impression of the muscular attachment varies from one-half to two-thirds of the inner surface. The outer lip shows a slight sutural sinus.[2]

Remove ads

Distribution and habitat

Species in the genus Conus sensu stricto can be found in the tropical and subtropical seas of the world, at depths ranging from the sublittoral (c. 200 m) to 1,000 m (656 to 3,280 ft). They are very variable in some of their characters, such as the tuberculation of the spire and body whorl, striae, colors and the pattern of coloring.

The oldest known fossil of Conus is from the lower Eocene, about 55 million years ago.[3]

Remove ads

See also

List of Conus species

References

Loading content...

Further reading

Loading content...

External links

Loading related searches...

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Remove ads