Elongate cone

Elongate cone
elongate cone
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Neogastropoda
Superfamily: Conoidea
Family: Conidae
Subfamily: Coninae
Genus: Conus
Species: C. mozambicus
Binomial name
Conus mozambicus
Hwass

The elongate cone is a species of medium-sized sea snail, a predatory marine gastropod mollusc in the family Conidae, the cone snails or cone shells.

Contents

Distribution

The elongate cone is known off the southern African coast from Lüderitz Bay to Mossel Bay, subtidally in shallow water. The species is endemic to this region.[1]

Description

The elongate cone has a medium-sized shell which may grow to 65mm in total length. It has a sharply pointed spire. The shell colour is dull and mottled with brown, and there may be darker blotches at the shoulder. The spire of the shell is stepped.[2]

Ecology

The elongate cone feeds on polychaete worms. The egg capsules are vase-shaped and contain 19-23 eggs.[1]

Taxonomy

Synonyms of the elongate cone include:

  • Conus caffer Krauss, 1848
  • Conus elongatus Holten, 1802
  • Conus informis Hwass in Bruguière, 1792
  • Conus lautus Reeve, 1844
  • Conus macei Crosse, 1865

According to Branch (see reference below), there are two subspecies of this animal, Conus mozambicus mozambicus and Conus mozambicus lautus. The description given here is for C. mozambicus mozambicus.

C. mozambicus lautus has a shorter shell, is reddish-brown in colour and has a more oblique spire than C. mozambicus mozambicus. It replaces C. mozambicus mozambicus east of Cape Agulhas, and is found from there to southern KwaZulu-Natal.

References

  1. ^ a b Kilburn R. & Rippey E. 1982. Sea Shells of Southern Africa Macmillan ISBN 0-86954-094-7
  2. ^ Branch, G.M., Branch, M.L, Griffiths, C.L. and Beckley, L.E. 2005. Two Oceans: a guide to the marine life of southern Africa ISBN 0-86486-672-0

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