Conus maldivus

Conus maldivus, common name the Maldive cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails, cone shells or cones.^[2]

Conus maldivus
Apertural view of a shell of Conus maldivus
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. maldivus
Binomial name
Conus maldivus Hwass in Bruguière, 1792
Synonyms[2]
Conus (Strategoconus) maldivus Hwass in Bruguière, 1792 · accepted, alternate representation Conus dux Röding, 1798 (invalid: junior homonym of Conus dux Hwass, 1792) Conus generalis maldivus Hwass in Bruguière, 1792 Conus generalis monteiroi Barros e Cunha, 1933 Conus planaxis Deshayes, 1863 Conus spirogloxus Deshayes, 1863 Cucullus dux Röding, 1798 Cucullus filosus Röding, 1798 Strategoconus maldivus (Hwass in Bruguière, 1792)

These snails are predatory and venomous. They are capable of stinging humans.

Description

The size of the shell varies between 18 mm and 83 mm. The shell is encircled by distant revolving lines of small spots. It is sometimes irregularly clouded with white, not forming bands. At other times it is irregularly banded.^[3]

Distribution

This marine species occurs in the Red Sea and in the Western Indian Ocean off the Mascarene Basin, the Maldives and Sri Lanka.