Conus textile

Conus textile
A live individual of Conus textile, head end towards the right
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Clade: Caenogastropoda
Clade: Hypsogastropoda
Clade: Neogastropoda
Superfamily: Conoidea
Family: Conidae
Genus: Conus
Species: C. textile
Binomial name
Conus textile
Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms[1]

See "List of synonyms"

Conus textile, common name the textile cone or the cloth of gold cone[2] is a venomous species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails, cone shells or cones.

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. The conotoxin of this species is extremely dangerous to humans.

List of synonyms

Subspecies

Shell description

Dorsal view of Conus textile from Queensland, Australia

Typical length of adults is about 9 cm to 10 cm (3.5 in to 3.9 in).[1] The maximum shell length for this species is 15 cm (5.9 in).[3] The color pattern of its shell resembles a cellular automaton named Rule 30.[4] The color of the shell is yellowish brown, with undulating longitudinal lines of chocolate, interrupted by triangular white spaces. These last are irregularly disposed, but crowded at the shoulder, base and middle so as to form bands. The spire is similarly marked. The aperture is white.[5]

Distribution

C. textile lives in the waters of the Red Sea, the tropical Indo-Pacific, off Australia (New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia), New Zealand, the Indian Ocean from eastern Africa to Hawaii, and French Polynesia.[6]

Ecology

Life cycle

The female lays several hundred eggs at a time, which hatch after about 16 or 17 days. After hatching, the larvae float around in the current for approximately 16 days. Afterward, they settle at the bottom of the ocean. By this point their length is about 1.5 mm (0.06 in).[7]

Feeding habits

C. textile is a carnivorous species, and uses a radula (a biological microscopic needle) to inject a conotoxin to kill its prey. C. textile eats snails.[8] The proboscis, the tip of which holds the harpoon-like radular tooth, is capable of being extended to any part of its own shell. The living animal is a risk to any person handling it who has not taken proper care to protect exposed skin. Several human deaths have been attributed to this species.[9][10]

References

Apertural view of Conus textile textile forma archiepiscopus
  1. 1 2 "World Register of Marine Species". Conus textile Linnaeus, 1758. 2009. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
  2. ↑ "Conus textile". Archived from the original on July 17, 2003. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  3. ↑ Poutiers, J. M. (1998). "Gastropods". In Carpenter, K. E. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific (PDF). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. 1. Rome: FAO. p. 628. ISBN 92-5-104051-6.
  4. ↑ Stephen Coombes (February 2009). "The Geometry and Pigmentation of Seashells" (PDF). www.maths.nottingham.ac.uk. University of Nottingham. Retrieved 2013-04-10.
  5. ↑ George Washington Tryon, Manual of Conchology vol. VI, p. 90; 1879
  6. ↑ "Online Learning Center: Textile Cone Snail". Aquarium of the Pacific. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
  7. ↑ Textile Cone Snail
  8. ↑ Conus textile Linnaeus, 1758. Textile cone, 107 mm
  9. ↑ Cloth-of-Gold (Full Screen, Please)
  10. ↑ Textile Cone Shell(Conus textile)
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