Conus monachus

Conus monachus
Apertural view of a shell of Conus monachus
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. monachus
Binomial name
Conus monachus Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms [2]
Conus (Pionoconus) monachusLinnaeus, 1758 · accepted, alternate representation Conus contususReeve, 1848 Conus frostianusBrazier, 1898 Conus nebulosusGmelin, 1791 Conus vinctusA. Adams, 1855 Cucullus cinerariusRöding, 1798 Cucullus guttatusRöding, 1798 Cucullus maculosusRöding, 1798 Pionoconus monachus(Linnaeus, 1758) Pionoconus vinctus(A. Adams, 1855)

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

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

Description

The size of the shell varies between 18 mm (0.71 in) and 74 mm (2.9 in). The shell is a little inflated and distantly grooved below. The spire is striate and somewhat convex. The shell is white, longitudinally marbled and flecked with dull blue or purple. ^[3] It captures its prey by using the "taser-and-tether" (harpoon) strategy. This means it stuns its prey by using venom and extends a proboscis from its rostrum and "hooks" the fish, the same way a harpoon would. ^[4]

Distribution and habitat

This marine species occurs in the Indo-Pacific. It is found in the neritic zone and resides in muddy sand and under rocks. ^[5]

References

1. Duda T (2013). "Supreme Cone Conus monachus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2013: e.T192399A2088081. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T192399A2088081.en . Retrieved 6 April 2022.
2. Bouchet P (2015). "Conus monachus Linnaeus, 1758". MolluscaBase. Retrieved 2015-11-04– via World Register of Marine Species.
3. Tryon GW (1884). Manual of Conchology, structural and systematic, with illustrations of the species. Vol. VI. Philadelphia: Academy of Natural Sciences.
4. Olivera BM, Seger J, Horvath MP, Fedosov AE (September 2015). "Prey-Capture Strategies of Fish-Hunting Cone Snails: Behavior, Neurobiology and Evolution". Brain, Behavior and Evolution. 86 (1): 58–74. doi:10.1159/000438449. PMC   4621268 . PMID   26397110.
5. Palomares ML, Pauly D, eds. (2022). "Conus monachus" in SeaLifeBase. April 2022 version.

Further reading

• Linnaeus C (1758). "Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis" [The system of nature is divided into three kingdoms of nature, based on classes, orders, genera, species, with characters, differences, synonyms, and places.] (in Latin) (Tenth, reformed. ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentius Salvius. Archived from the original on 2017-06-13.
• Puillandre N, Duda TF, Meyer C, Olivera BM, Bouchet P (February 2015). "One, four or 100 genera? A new classification of the cone snails". The Journal of Molluscan Studies. 81 (1): 1–23. doi:10.1093/mollus/eyu055. PMC   4541476 . PMID   26300576.

External links

• To World Register of Marine Species
• Cone Shells - Knights of the Sea
• "Pionoconus monachus". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 16 January 2019.