Conus gradatulus explained

Conus gradatulus 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.

Description

The size of the shell varies between 41 mm and 72 mm. The spire is elevated, gradate, with channeled whorls. The body whorl is roseate with three series of longitudinal maculations of chestnut-color, forming interrupted bands. The aperture is rosy.^[1]

Distribution

This marine species occurs off the Agulhas Bank, South Africa.

References

• Sowerby, G.B. Jr. II (1870). Descriptions of Forty-eight new Species of Shells. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. (1870): 249–259
• 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

Notes and References

1. https://archive.org/details/manualconch06tryorich G.W. Tryon (1884) Manual of conchology, structural and systematic, with illustrations of the species, vol. VI; Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences