Kingdom Animalia Clade Caenogastropoda Clade Neogastropoda Scientific name Conus musicus Rank Species | Class Gastropoda Clade Hypsogastropoda Superfamily Conoidea Phylum Mollusca | |
 | ||
Similar Conus nussatella, Conus miliaris, Conus muriculatus, Conus mitratus, Conus sponsalis | ||
Conus musicus, common name the music 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.
There is one subspecies Conus musicus parvatus Walls, 1979, synonym of Conus parvatus Walls, 1979
Description
The size of an adult shell varies between 14 mm and 30 mm. The color of the shell is whitish, with light ash-violet broad bands and narrow revolving lines of chocolate, broken up into short lines and spots. The spire is often slightly coronate, rayed with chocolate.
Distribution
this species occurs in the Red Sea and in the Indian Ocean off Aldabra, Chagos, Madagascar, Mozambique and Tanzania; in the Central Indian Ocean (off Sri Lanka and the Maldives) to the Marshall Islands, the Solomon Islands and Fiji, Ryukyu Islands; off Australia (New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia).