Conasprella mindana explained

Conasprella mindana is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.^[1]

Like all species within the genus Conasprella, these snails are predatory and venomous. They are capable of "stinging" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not at all.

Subspecies

• Conasprella mindanus bermudensis Clench, W.J., 1962
• Conasprella mindana mindana (Hwass in Bruguière, 1792)

Distribution

Locus typicus: (of C. mindanus agassizii) "Off Santa Cruz (=St. Croix, Virgin Islands) in 115 fathoms.
Specimens of the type material conspecific with C. agassizi
were also collected off Barbados, in 76 fathoms."^[2]

This marine species occurs in the Caribbean Sea off Costa Rica, Guadeloupe and Curacao; in the Atlantic Ocean off Eastern Brazil, Barbados and Bermuda

Description

The maximum recorded shell length is 50 mm.^[3]

Habitat

The minimum recorded depth for this species is 0 m; the maximum recorded depth is 210 m.^[3]

References

• Rabiller M. & Richard G., 2019. Conidae offshore de Guadeloupe : Description du matériel dragué lors de l’expédition KARUBENTHOS 2 contenant de nouvelles espèces. Xenophora Taxonomy 24: 3-31
• 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

Gallery

Below are several color forms and one subspecies:

External links

• The Conus Biodiversity website
• Cone Shells – Knights of the Sea
  • Specimen at MNHN, Paris

Notes and References

1. Bouchet, P. (2015). Conasprella mindana (Hwass in Bruguière, 1792). In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=836701 on 2015-06-18
2. Danker VINK, 1989-La Conchiglia, Year XXI, No. 246-249, pages 34-34.
3. Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". PLoS ONE 5(1): e8776. .