Conus catus

Conus catus
Shell of Conus catus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Neogastropoda
Superfamily:	Conoidea
Family:	Conidae
Subfamily:	Coninae
Genus:	Conus
Species:	C. catus
Binomial name
Conus catus Hwass in Bruguière, 1792
Synonyms[1]
Conus catus var. fuscoolivaceus Dautzenberg, 1937 Conus catus var. granulata Wils, 1971 Conus catus var. rubrapapillosa Dautzenberg, 1937 Conus discrepans G.B. Sowerby II, 1833 Conus morrisoni G. Raybaudi Massilia, 1991 Conus nigropunctatus G. B. Sowerby II, 1858 Conus nigropunctatus var. peledi Wils, 1971 Conus purus Pease, 1863 Conus reflectus G. B. Sowerby III, 1877 Conus reflexus G. B. Sowerby III, 1887 Cucullus nubilis Röding, 1798 Cucullus nubilus Röding, 1798 Pionoconus catus (Hwass in Bruguière, 1792)

Conus catus, common name the cat cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.^[1]

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.

Description

The size of an adult shell varies between 24 mm and 52 mm. The shell is bulbous, with a convex, striate spire. The body whorl is striate, the striae rounded, usually obsolete above, granular below, olive, chestnut-, chocolate- or pink-brown, variously marbled and flecked with white, often faintly white-banded below the middle. In the variety nigropunctatus, the shell is colored as above and encircled by series of chocolate-colored dots. ^[2]

Distribution

This species occurs in the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean along the Aldabra Atoll, Chagos, Madagascar, Mauritius, Tanzania and KwaZuluNatal; in the Indo-West Pacific Region.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Conus catus Hwass in Bruguière, 1792.  Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=215441 on 15 July 2011.
2. ^ George Washington Tryon, Manual of Conchology, vol. VI, p. 63; 1884

• Dautzenberg, Ph. (1929). Mollusques testacés marins de Madagascar. Faune des Colonies Francaises, Tome III
• 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 4th 2009 Edition
• Tucker J.K. & Tenorio M.J. (2009) Systematic classification of Recent and fossil conoidean gastropods. Hackenheim: Conchbooks. 296 pp.

External links

• The Conus Biodiversity website
• Gastropods.com: Pionoconus catus; accessed: 15 July 2011