Kingdom Animalia Class Gastropoda Clade Hypsogastropoda Scientific name Conus artoptus | Phylum Mollusca Clade Caenogastropoda Clade Neogastropoda Rank Species | |
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Similar Conus attenuatus, Conus cocceus, Conus angasi, Conus ambiguus, Conus ardisiaceus | ||
Conus artoptus, common name the tender 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.
Description
The size of the shell varies between 35 mm and 79 mm. The shell is narrow, cylindrical, and encircled by minutely granose striae. Its color is whitish, broadly three-banded by oblong longitudinal clouds of orange-brown, the interstices brown-spotted.
Distribution
This marine species occurs off the Philippines, Indo-Malaysia, the Solomon Islands, in the Sulu Sea, off Vanuatu and Australia (Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia)