Conus litoglyphus

Conus litoglyphus, common name the lithograph cone, is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk, more popularly known as a cone snail, cone shell or cone.^[1]

Conus litoglyphus
Shell of Conus litoglyphus Hwass in Bruguière, 1792, measuring 44.3 mm in height, collected at low tide in coral sand off Zanzibar, in Africa.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Superfamily:	Conoidea
Family:	Conidae
Genus:	Conus
Species:	C. litoglyphus
Binomial name
Conus litoglyphus "Meuschen, F.C." Hwass, C.H. in Bruguière, J.G., 1792
Synonyms[1]
Conus (Strategoconus) litoglyphus Hwass in Bruguière, 1792 Conus albomaculatus G. B. Sowerby II, 1841 Conus bicolor G. B. Sowerby I, 1833 (March) Conus carpenteri Crosse, 1865 Conus inermis Tinker, 1952 Conus lacinulatus Kiener, 1845 Conus seychellensis Nevill & Nevill, 1874 Conus subcapitaneus Link, 1807 Cucullus cinamomeus Röding, 1798 Cucullus orleanus Röding, 1798 Rhizoconus seychellensis Nevill & Nevill, 1874 Strategoconus litoglyphus (Hwass in Bruguière, 1792)

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.

Drawing of Conus litoglyphus

Shell description

The size of an adult shell varies between 35 mm and 75 mm. The thick shell is small with a low spire. It has five rows of small granules at anterior end of whorl. It is dark brown or red in color with a mottled cream banding around the shoulders and across the body whorl. The narrow aperture is white with a brown coloration at the anterior end.

Distribution

This is an Indo-Pacific species, found in the Red Sea and in the Indian Ocean off Aldabra, Chagos, the Mascarene Basin and Mauritius.

Gallery

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  Conus litoglyphus Hwass in Bruguière, J.G., 1792
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  Conus litoglyphus Hwass in Bruguière, J.G., 1792
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  Conus litoglyphus Hwass in Bruguière, J.G., 1792
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  Conus litoglyphus Hwass in Bruguière, J.G., 1792