''Conus figulinus'',
common name
In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...
the fig cone, is a cone snail, a
species of
sea snail
Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...
, a marine
gastropod
The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda ().
This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...
mollusk in the
family Conidae
Conidae, with the current common name of "cone snails", is a taxonomic family (previously subfamily) of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Conoidea.
The 2014 classification of the superfamily Conoidea, groups onl ...
, the
cone snails
A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex.
A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines co ...
and their allies.
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.
''Dendroconus buxeus'', ''Dendroconus glaucus'' and ''Dendroconus loroisii'' are all very similar to ''Conus figulinus'', but are considered each a unique species.
Description
The size of an adult shell varies between 30 mm and 135 mm. The shell has a chestnut color, encircled by numerous, unbroken, narrow chocolate lines. The
spire is chocolate-colored. The
body whorl
The body whorl is part of the morphology of the shell in those gastropod mollusks that possess a coiled shell. The term is also sometimes used in a similar way to describe the shell of a cephalopod mollusk.
In gastropods
In gastropods, the b ...
is occasionally narrowly light-banded in the middle.
[ George Washington Tryon, Manual of Conchology vol. VI, p. 16; 1879]
Distribution
This species occurs in the Indian Ocean off
Madagascar, the
Mascarene Basin,
Mauritius and
Tanzania; in the Indo-West Pacific, Indo-Malaysia,
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
,
New Caledonia
)
, anthem = ""
, image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of New Caledonia
, map_caption = Location of New Caledonia
, mapsize = 290px
, subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...
,
Solomon Islands,
Vanuatu,
India and Australia (
Queensland).
References
* Linnaeus, C. 1758. ''Systemae naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differetiis, synonymis, locis.v. Holmiae'' : Laurentii Salvii 824 pp.
* Röding, P.F. 1798. ''Museum Boltenianum sive Catalogus cimeliorum e tribus regnis naturae quae olim collegerat Joa''. Hamburg : Trappii 199 pp.
* Reeve, L.A. 1843. ''Monograph of the genus Conus.'' pls 1–39 in Reeve, L.A. (ed.). Conchologica Iconica. London : L. Reeve & Co. Vol. 1.
* Barros e Cunha, J.G. de 1933. ''Catálogo decritivo das Conchas exóticas da colecção António Augusto de Carvalho Monteiro.'' Memórias e Estudos do Museu Zoológico da Universidade de Coimbra 1 71: 5–224
* Gillett, K. & McNeill, F. 1959. ''The Great Barrier Reef and Adjacent Isles: a comprehensive survey for visitor, naturalist and photographer''. Sydney : Coral Press 209 pp.
* Wilson, B.R. & Gillett, K. 1971. ''Australian Shells: illustrating and describing 600 species of marine gastropods found in Australian waters.'' Sydney : Reed Books 168 pp.
* Cernohorsky, W.O. 1978. ''Tropical Pacific Marine Shells''. Sydney : Pacific Publications 352 pp., 68 pls.
* Drivas, J. & M. Jay (1988). ''Coquillages de La Réunion et de l'île Maurice''
* Wilson, B. 1994. ''Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranch Gastropods.'' Kallaroo, WA : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 2 370 pp.
* Röckel, D., Korn, W. & Kohn, A.J. 1995. ''Manual of the Living Conidae. Volume 1: Indo-Pacific Region''. Wiesbaden : Hemmen 517 pp.
* Filmer R.M. (2001).'' A Catalogue of Nomenclature and Taxonomy in the Living Conidae 1758 – 1998''. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden. 388pp.
* 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
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
The ''Conus'' Biodiversity websiteCone Shells – Knights of the Sea*
Gallery
File:Conus figulinus 1.jpg, ''Conus figulinus'' Linnaeus, C., 1758
File:Conus figulinus 2.jpg, ''Conus figulinus'' Linnaeus, C., 1758
File:Conus figulinus 3.jpg, ''Conus figulinus'' Linnaeus, C., 1758
File:Conus figulinus x glaucus 4.jpg, Possible hybrid between the two species. ''C. figulinus x glaucus''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conus Figulinus
figulinus
Gastropods described in 1758
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus