Conus marmoreus
Type species of the genus Conus, known for its reticulated color pattern.
Last updated
via Wikipedia: Conus marmoreus · Public domain
Conus marmoreus, called the marbled cone, is a predatory sea snail—a marine gastropod mollusk belonging to the family Conidae. It serves as the type species for the genus Conus, which itself is the type genus for the family. Like all cone snails, it is venomous, and its diet is thought to consist mainly of other marine mollusks, including fellow cone snails. The subspecies Conus marmoreus bandanus is now considered a synonym of Conus bandanus.
This species is found in the Indian Ocean near Chagos and Madagascar, in the Bay of Bengal off India, across the western Pacific to Fiji and the Marshall Islands, and off Australia (Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia). Adult shells range from 30 to 150 mm in size. The spire is flat and nodular, and the outer lip flares toward the rear.
Its distinctive reticulated color pattern varies from black with white dots to orange with white reticulations, arranged so that white appears in rounded, triangular spots. The aperture is white or light pink. In 1650, Rembrandt depicted this cone in an etching titled "De schelp" ("The shell").
Scientific classification
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumMollusca
- ClassGastropoda
- SubclassCaenogastropoda
- OrderNeogastropoda
- FamilyConidae
- GenusConus
- SpeciesConus marmoreus
Named by Linnaeus, 1758
Close relatives
Other species of Conus with a Codexery entry.
- Conus abbas Conus abbas
- Conus abrolhosensis Conus abrolhosensis
- Conus achatinus Conus achatinus
- Conus acutangulus Conus acutangulus
- Conus aito Conus aito
- Conus ammiralis Conus ammiralis
- Conus anabathrum Conus anabathrum
- Conus anemone Conus anemone
Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Conus marmoreus (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 215457 (CC BY 4.0)
Conservation status
Least Concern (LC)
- LC▲ this species
- NT
- VU
- EN
- CR
- EW
- EX
Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category
How big is it?
Largest length in the source, 0.15 m, next to a 1.8 m person.
Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Conus marmoreus
Where the conus marmoreus has been recorded
Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (1,506 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 100 inland records left out (institution coordinates).
Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain) · place coordinates: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Lore & Background
The marbled cone was described by Linnaeus in 1758 in Systema Naturae. Its shell varies in size from 30 to 150 mm, with a flattish, nodular spire and an outer lip that flares towards the posterior.
The distinctive reticulated color pattern can range from black with white dots to orange with white reticulations, arranged so as to expose the white in rounded triangular large spots. The aperture is white or light pink. In 1650, Rembrandt portrayed this cone in an etching titled 'De schelp' ('The shell').
More in Cone Snails
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Conus marmoreus (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Classification: the source article's taxobox; order, family and genus checked against WoRMS, the World Register of Marine Species (CC BY 4.0).
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List assessment.
- Occurrence records: GBIF (CC0 / CC BY). Basemap: Natural Earth (public domain).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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