''Conus thevenardensis'' is a species of

sea snail Sea snails are slow-moving marine (ocean), marine gastropod Mollusca, molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the Taxonomic classification, taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguishe ...

, a marine

gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...

in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.Bouchet, P. (2011). ''Conus thevenardensis'' da Motta, 1987. Accessed through:

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=429881 on 2012-01-21Wilson, B. (1994) Australian marine shells. Prosobranch gastropods. Vol. 2 Neogastropods. Odyssey Publishing, Kallaroo, Western Australia, 370 pp. Like all species within the genus Conus, these snails are

predatory Predation is a biological interaction in which 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 ...

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 sti ...

. They are capable of

stinging Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-ear ...

humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not at all.

Notes

Additional information regarding this species: * Taxonomy: The status of ''

Conus nielsenae ''Conus nielsenae'', common name Nielsen's 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 venom ...

'', ''

Conus reductaspiralis ''Conus reductaspiralis'', common name Nielsen's cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.Bouchet, P. (2011). ''Conus reductaspiralis'' Walls, 1979. Accessed through: W ...

'' and ''Conus thevenardensis'' has been disputed by some authors, but Australian specialists generally regard them as distinct. For conservation evaluation, all three are here listed as distinct and as alternative representations in the genus

Kioconus ''Kioconus'' is a synonym of the subgenus ''Conus (Splinoconus)'' da Motta, 1991 represented as ''Conus'' Linnaeus, 1758. These are sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Conidae, the Conus, cone snails and their allies. Distinguish ...

Description

The size of the shell varies between 27 mm and 61 mm.

Distribution

This marine species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to Australia and occurs off Thevenard Island,

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

References

* Walls, J.G. 1979. ''Three new Indian Ocean cones''. The Pariah 5: 1-8 * Motta, A.J. da 1987. ''A new Conus species endemic to Thevenard Island, W. Australia''. La Conchiglia 19(222-223): 29-30 * Wilson, B. (1994) ''Australian marine shells. Prosobranch gastropods. Vol. 2 Neogastropods''. Odyssey Publishing, Kallaroo, Western Australia, 370 pp. * Röckel, D., Korn, W. & Kohn, A.J. 1995. ''Manual of the Living Conidae. Volume 1: Indo-Pacific Region''. Wiesbaden : Hemmen 517 pp. *

External links

World Register of Marine Species

Cone Shells - Knights of the Sea
* thevenardensis Gastropods of Australia Gastropods described in 1987 {{Conus-stub