Conus spurius
Geographic Range
Florida and the Gulf of Mexico
- Biogeographic Regions
- neotropical
- atlantic ocean
Habitat
This species of cone is at home on coral reefs or shallow ocean bottom.
Physical Description
These cones reach 2-3 inches in length. They surface of the shell is smooth. Background color white, with numerous small orangish squares.
- Other Physical Features
- ectothermic
- bilateral symmetry
Reproduction
Cones are sexual reproducing animals. When mating, the female lays a group of eggs that are all attached in a thick kind of mucus. The male is positioned near her body and fertilizes the eggs as soon as they are exit her body. The fertilized eggs remain bonded together in the thick mucus layer until they hatch. Young are not tended by their parents.
Behavior
Conus spurius are solitary, with no social organization of any kind. The only interactions between individuals occur at mating.
Food Habits
This particular cone is a predator that feeds on anything from marine worms to sizable fish. It hunts by extending its proboscis," a muscular extension and retraction of the gut." When it touches prey, the proboscis launches a harpoon-like tooth that pierces the prey and injects deadly venom. The proboscis is then retracted, hauling the prey in. The venom is very deadly and some species of cones have reportedly caused human fatalities.
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
These snails play a role in the food chain of the sea as predators.
Contributors
Matthew Sygo (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
Glossary
- Atlantic Ocean
-
the body of water between Africa, Europe, the southern ocean (above 60 degrees south latitude), and the western hemisphere. It is the second largest ocean in the world after the Pacific Ocean.
- Neotropical
-
living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- coastal
-
the nearshore aquatic habitats near a coast, or shoreline.
- ectothermic
-
animals which must use heat acquired from the environment and behavioral adaptations to regulate body temperature
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- reef
-
structure produced by the calcium carbonate skeletons of coral polyps (Class Anthozoa). Coral reefs are found in warm, shallow oceans with low nutrient availability. They form the basis for rich communities of other invertebrates, plants, fish, and protists. The polyps live only on the reef surface. Because they depend on symbiotic photosynthetic algae, zooxanthellae, they cannot live where light does not penetrate.
References
Abbott, R. T. 1954. American Seashells. D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc.
Brown, G. H. Encyclopedia of Aquatic Life. Chicago, 1974.
Mandel, S. "Mollusca" CD Rom, July-Dec. 1992.
Thompson. T.B. Biologyu of Opisthobranch Molluscs. London, 1974.