Conus cancellatus, common name the cancellate cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.
Like all species within the genus Conus, these snails are predatory and venomous. They are capable of stinging humans; live ones should be handled carefully or not at all. Subspecies Conus cancellatus capricorni Van Mol, Tursch & Kempf, 1967 Conus cancellatus finkli Petuch, 1987 (synonym: Conasprelloides cancellatus finkli (Petuch, 1987) )
Distribution This species occurs in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Lesser Antilles.
Description The maximum recorded shell length is 80 mm.Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". PLoS ONE 5(1): e8776. .
The pear-shaped shell is broad and angulated at the shoulder, contracted towards the base. The body whorl is closely sulcate throughout, the sulci striate. The intervening ridges are rounded. The spire carinate and concavely elevated. Its apex is acute and striate. The color of the shell is whitish, obscurely doubly banded with clouds of light chestnut. The spire is maculated with the same.George Washington Tryon, Manual of Conchology, vol. VI, p. 74-75; 1879
Habitat Minimum recorded depth is 26 m. Maximum recorded depth is 110 m.
References
Filmer R.M. (2001). A Catalogue of Nomenclature and Taxonomy in the Living Conidae 1758 – 1998. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden. 388pp. Rosenberg, G., F. Moretzsohn, and E. F. García. 2009. Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico, pp. 579–699 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas Tucker J.K. (2009). Recent cone species database. September 4, 2009 Edition Tucker J.K. & Tenorio M.J. (2009) Systematic classification of Recent and fossil conoidean gastropods. Hackenheim: Conchbooks. 296 pp. Liu J.Y. [Ruiyu] (ed.). (2008). Checklist of marine biota of China seas. China Science Press. 1267 pp. Puillandre N., Duda T.F., Meyer C., Olivera B.M. & Bouchet P. (2015). One, four or 100 genera? A new classification of the cone snails. Journal of Molluscan Studies. 81: 1–23
External links
Cone Shells – Knights of the Sea Holotype of Conus cancellatus capricorni in MNHN, Paris
Gallery