Kingdom Animalia Class Gastropoda Clade Hypsogastropoda Scientific name Conus litoglyphus | Phylum Mollusca Clade Caenogastropoda Clade Neogastropoda Rank Species | |
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Similar Conus nussatella, Conus miliaris, Conus lividus, Conus canonicus, Conus mitratus | ||
Conus litoglyphus, common name the lithograph cone, is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk, more popularly known as a cone snail, cone shell or cone.
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.
Shell description
The size of an adult shell varies between 35 mm and 75 mm. The thick shell is small with a low spire. It has five rows of small granules at anterior end of whorl. It is dark brown or red in color with a mottled cream banding around the shoulders and across the body whorl. The narrow aperture is white with a brown coloration at the anterior end.
Distribution
This is an Indo-Pacific species, found in the Red Sea and in the Indian Ocean off Aldabra, Chagos, the Mascarene Basin and Mauritius.