''Conus nimbosus'', common name the stormy cone, is 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 ...
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.
;Subspecies:
* ''Conus nimbosus nanoclarus''
Bozzetti, 2017 (off Madagascar)
Description
The size of an adult shell varies between 33 mm and 65 mm. The color of the rather smooth shell is rosy or violaceous white, with two faint chestnut bands, closely encircled by lines of small chocolate dots. 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 ...
shows close revolving grooves. The
spire is rather flat and has a greyish white
apex.
[ George Washington Tryon, Manual of Conchology vol. VI p. 82; 1884]
Distribution
This species occurs in the Indian Ocean off
Mozambique,
Madagascar, the
Seychelles,
India, and
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
; in the Pacific Ocean off
Papua New Guinea,
Vanuatu, and
Samoa.
References
* 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
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* Bozzetti L. , 2017. C''onus nimbosus nanoclarus (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia: Conidae) a new subspecies from South-East Madagascar''. Malacologia Mostra Mondiale 96: 3–5
Gallery
File:Conus nimbosus 1.jpg, ''Conus nimbosus'' Hwass in Bruguière, J.G., 1792
File:Conus nimbosus 2.jpg, ''Conus nimbosus'' Hwass in Bruguière, J.G., 1792
File:Conus nimbosus 3.jpg, ''Conus nimbosus'' Hwass in Bruguière, J.G., 1792
File:Conus nimbosus nanoclarus 001.jpg, ''Conus nimbosus nanoclarus'' Bozzetti, 2017
External links
The ''Conus'' Biodiversity website*
Cone Shells – Knights of the Sea
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conus nimbosus
nimbosus
Gastropods described in 1792