Kingdom Animalia Class Gastropoda Clade Hypsogastropoda Scientific name Conus achatinus | Phylum Mollusca Clade Caenogastropoda Clade Neogastropoda Rank Species | |
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Similar Conus acutangulus, Conus abbas, Conus ammiralis, Conus amadis, Conus alabaster | ||
Conus achatinus, common name the turtle cone or the agate cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.
Contents
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 an adult shell varies between 35 mm and 100 mm. The shell is bulbous, with a somewhat elevated, lightly striated spire and rounded shoulders. The body whorl is rounded with convex sides, sometimes with granular striae below. The shell is pale blue, marbled with pinkish or purplish white and olivaceous-brown, under a light brown, thin epidermis, everywhere encircled by close-set narrow brown lines, which are usually broken up into brown and white articulations.
The varieties Conus achatinus var. infumata Dautzenberg, 1937 and Conus achatinus var. violacea Barros & C.M.I. Cunha, 1933 are accepted as Conus achatinus Gmelin, 1791
Distribution
This species occurs in the Red Sea and in the Indian Ocean off the Mascarene Basin; in the Indo-West Pacific; off Australia (Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia). It is variable throughout its range.