''Conus voluminalis'', common name the voluminous cone or the roller cone, 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. 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.

Description

The size of the shell varies between 30 mm and 72 mm. The color of the shell is whitish or yellowish white, usually faintly lined with yellow or light chestnut, with two bands of irregular longitudinal light chestnut blotches.G.W. Tryon (1884) Manual of Conchology, structural and systematic, with illustrations of the species, vol. VI; Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences
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Distribution

This marine species occurs from the

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

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 ...

; off the Ryukyu Islands. & Taiwan; off the Solomons & Papua New Guinea

References

* 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. * Bernardi, M. 1857. ''Description d'espèces nouvelles''. Journal de Conchyliologie 6: 53–57 * Schepman, M.M. 1913. ''Toxoglossa''. pp. 384–396 in Weber, M. & de Beaufort, L.F. (eds). The Prosobranchia, Pulmonata and Opisthobranchia Tectibranchiata, Tribe Bullomorpha, of the Siboga Expedition. Monograph 49. Siboga Expeditie 32(2) * Shikama, T. 1979. ''Description of new and noteworthy Gastropoda from western Pacific Ocean (II).'' Science Reports of the Yokosuka City Museum 26: 1–6 * 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. * Tucker J.K. & Tenorio M.J. (2013) ''Illustrated catalog of the living cone shells.'' 517 pp. Wellington, Florida: MdM Publishing. * File:Conus voluminalis 3.jpg, ''Conus voluminalis'' Reeve, L.A., 1843 File:Conus voluminalis 4.jpg, ''Conus voluminalis'' Reeve, L.A., 1843 File:Conus voluminalis 5.jpg, ''Conus voluminalis'' Reeve, L.A., 1843

External links

The ''Conus'' Biodiversity website
*
Cone Shells – Knights of the Sea

Syntype in MNHN, Paris
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conus Voluminalis voluminalis Gastropods described in 1843 IUCN Red List least concern species