Conus coffeae

Conus coffeae, common name the coffee cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.^[2]

Conus coffeae
Apertural and abapertural views of shell of Conus coffeae Gmelin, J.F., 1791
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Superfamily:	Conoidea
Family:	Conidae
Genus:	Conus
Species:	C. coffeae
Binomial name
Conus coffeae Gmelin, 1791
Synonyms[2]
Conus (Leporiconus) coffeae Gmelin, 1791 accepted, alternate representation Conus caffer Röding, 1798 Conus fabula G. B. Sowerby II, 1833 Conus scabriusculus Dillwyn, 1817 Cucullus caffer Röding, 1798 (junior homonym of Conus caffer Krauss, 1848) Leporiconus coffeae (Gmelin, 1791)

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 18 mm and 51 mm. The yellowish brown shell is white-banded in the middle and less distinctly so at the shoulder and the base of the body whorl. These bands are sometimes maculated, like the spire, with chestnut, and there are, on the darker portions, occasional faint chestnut revolving lines.^[3]

Distribution

This marine species occurs in the Central and Western Pacific; off Australia (New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia)