Conasprella orbignyi explained

Conasprella orbignyi, common name Orbigny's (false) cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.

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.

There is one subspecies: Conus orbignyi elokismenos Kilburn, 1975 (invalid synonym: Conus orbignyi aratus Kilburn, 1973).^[1] This subspecies is considered a species in the World Register of Marine Species as Conus elokismenos Kilburn, 1975.^[2]

Description

The size of the shell varies between 32 mm and 88 mm.

Distribution

This marine species occurs in the Indo-Pacific (Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa, Réunion, Eastern India, Japan, New Caledonia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan) and off Australia (Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia).

References

• d'Orbigny, A., 1831. Première partie. Classe 5. Mollusques. Magasin de Zoologie
• Wilson, B. 1994. Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranch Gastropods. Kallaroo, WA : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 2 370 pp.
• Röckel, D., Korn, W. & Kohn, A.J. 1995. Manual of the Living Conidae. Volume 1: Indo-Pacific Region. Wiesbaden : Hemmen 517 pp.
• Puillandre N., Meyer C.P., Bouchet P. & Olivera B.M. (2011) Genetic divergence and geographic variation in the deep-water Conus orbignyi complex (Mollusca: Conoidea). Zoologica Scripta 40(4): 350–363
• Filmer R.M. (2001). A Catalogue of Nomenclature and Taxonomy in the Living Conidae 1758 - 1998. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden. 388pp.
• Tucker J.K. (2009). Recent cone species database. September 4, 2009 Edition
• Puillandre N., Duda T.F., Meyer C., Olivera B.M. & Bouchet P. (2015). One, four or 100 genera? A new classification of the cone snails. Journal of Molluscan Studies. 81: 1–23

External links

• The Conus Biodiversity website
• Cone Shells – Knights of the Sea
  • Holotype in MNHN, Paris

Notes and References

1. Kilburn, R. N., 1975. Substitute name for Conus orbignyi aratus Kilburn, nom preocc.. The Nautilus: A Quarterly Devoted to Malacology, 89 (2).
2. Bouchet, P. (2011). Conus elokismenos Kilburn, 1975. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=574504 on 2011-07-19