Kingdom Animalia Class Gastropoda Clade Hypsogastropoda Scientific name Conus ambiguus | Phylum Mollusca Clade Caenogastropoda Clade Neogastropoda Rank Species | |
 | ||
Similar Conus africanus, Conus alabaster, Conus anabelae, Conus andamanensis, Conus angasi | ||
Conus ambiguus, common name The Doubtful Cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.
Contents
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
Conus ambiguus was originally discovered and described in both identical Latin and English language texts by Lovell Augustus Reeve in 1844.
Reeve's type description reads as follows:
The shell of Conus ambiguus is whitish, with obscure, light brown bands, and longitudinal streaks. The spire is ornamented with arched brownish spots.
The height of the shell is 1.5 inches (38 mm).
Dimensions of the shell of type specimen is 39 x 22 mm. The type specimen is stored in Zoölogisch Museum Amsterdam (Zoological Museum of the University of Amsterdam).
Distribution
The type locality was not specified by Reeve. This species occurs in the Atlantic Ocean off West Africa (Senegal, Guinea Bissau), off the Cape Verde Islands and Angola.