Conus gladiator

Conus gladiator, common name the gladiator cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.^[3]

Conus gladiator
Apertural view of shell of Conus gladiator Broderip, 1833
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. gladiator
Binomial name
Conus gladiator Broderip & Sowerby, 1833[2]
Synonyms[3]
Conus (Monteiroconus) gladiator Broderip, 1833 · accepted, alternate representation Conus cibielii Kiener, 1849 Conus evelynae G. B. Sowerby III, 1882 Conus gloynei G. B. Sowerby III, 1881 Gladioconus gladiator (Broderip, 1833)

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 an adult shell varies between 26 mm and 48 mm. The spire is rather depressed, tuberculate and striate. The color of the shell is chocolate-brown, variegated with white, disposed in longitudinal streaks, with an irregular white band, and more or less distinct revolving lines of darker brown. The interior is white or tinged with chocolate. The epidermis is fibrous.^[4]

Distribution

This species occurs in the Pacific Ocean off the Galapagos Islands and from the Gulf of California to Peru.