''Conus martensi'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is es ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

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, group ...

, 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 Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill t ...

and

venomous Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a ...

. They are capable of "stinging" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not at all.

Description

The size of the shell varies between 17 mm and 78 mm. (Original description) The shell is small, turbinate, much narrowed towards the base or front. It has an orange colour, rather paler upon the

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

. It contains about 10

whorl A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). Whorls in nature File:Photograph and axial plane flo ...

s, flat-topped and a little sloping, raised somewhat above one another, concentrically three-grooved, separated by a deepish suture. The body whorl is subacutely angled above, then a trifle convex at the sides, and being much attenuated anteriorly has a somewhat piriform appearance. It is sculptured with fine lines of growth and transverse indistinct striae or shallow grooves, which around the base are much deeper. The

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An ...

is very narrow. The outer

lip The lips are the visible body part at the mouth of many animals, including humans. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech. Human lips are a tactile sensory organ, and can be ...

is thin and moderately sinuated above the angle. The spire is short, graduated, with rectilinear outlines. The species is distinguished by the narrowness of the aperture, its somewhat pyriform shape, and the uniform orange tint of its colouring. The spire is paler, except at the deepish suture, which is likewise orange. E.A. SMith (1884), Report on the zoological collections made in the Indo-Pacific Ocean; British Museum (Natural History)
/ref>

Distribution

This species occurs in the Indian Ocean in the

Mozambique Channel The Mozambique Channel (french: Canal du Mozambique, mg, Lakandranon'i Mozambika, pt, Canal de Moçambique) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about long ...

and from

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the histori ...

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

; off

Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...

and the

Mascarenes The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of the islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Thei ...

; also off Japan, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, East

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, New Caledonia,

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

and in the Western Pacific.

References

* Shikama, T., 1970. ''On Some Noteworthy Marine Gastropoda from Southwestern Japan (II).'' Science Reports of the Yokohama National University, sect. 2. no. 16: 19 -27 * Severns, M. (2011). ''Shells of the Hawaiian Islands - The Sea Shells''. Conchbooks, Hackenheim. 564 pp * 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 website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conus Martensi martensi Gastropods described in 1884