Conus magus

Pionoconus magus
Dorsal (left) and ventral (right) views of a shell of Pionoconus magus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Neogastropoda
Superfamily:	Conoidea
Family:	Conidae
Subfamily:	Coninae
Genus:	Pionoconus
Species:	P. magus
Binomial name
Pionoconus magus Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms[1]
Pionoconus assimilis A. Adams, 1855 Pionoconus boivini Kiener, L.C., 1845 Pionoconus carinatus Swainson, 1822 Pionoconus cernohorskyi da Motta, 1983 Pionoconus circae G. B. Sowerby II, 1858 Pionoconus consul Boivin, 1864 Pionoconus epistomioides Weinkauff, 1875 Pionoconus epistomium Reeve, 1844 Pionoconus frauenfeldi Crosse, 1865 Pionoconus fucatus Reeve, 1849 Pionoconus fulvobullatus da Motta, 1982 Pionoconus raphanus Hwass in Bruguière, 1792 Pionoconus rollandi Bernardi, 1860 Pionoconus signifer Crosse, 1865 Pionoconus ustulatus Reeve, 1844 Pionoconus worcesteri Brazier, 1891 Pionoconus consul Boivin, A., 1864 Pionoconus magus (Linnaeus, 1758) Pionoconus magus fulvobullatus (f) Motta, A.J. da, 1982 Pionoconus metcalfii Reeve, L.A., 1843

Pionoconus magus, common name the magical 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

Conus magus (syn.:Conus fulvobullatus) shows the variability in pattern and color of this species

The size of an adult shell varies between 16 mm and 94 mm. This common species is very variable in pattern and shade of coloring and embraces a large synonymy. The moderate spire is striate. The body whorl is long and rather cylindrical, closely striate below. The color of the shell is white, clouded with bluish ash, orange-brown, chestnut or chocolate, everywhere encircled by narrow chocolate interrupted lines, often separated into somewhat distant dots The middle of the body whorl is usually irregularly fasciate with white. The spire is tessellated with chestnut or chocolate. ^[2]

Venom use

Ziconotide is a chemical derived from the Conus magus toxin that acts as a painkiller with a potency 1000 times that of morphine. Discovered by Dr. Baldomero Olivera at University of Utah, it was developed for treatment of chronic and intractable pain caused by AIDS, cancer, neurological disorders and other maladies, and was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December 2004 under the name Prialt.

Ziconotide works by blocking calcium channels in pain-transmitting nerve cells, rendering them unable to transmit pain signals to the brain. It is administered through injection into the spinal fluid.^[3]

Distribution

This marine species occurs in the Red Sea and in the Indian Ocean along Madagascar and the Mascarene Basin. It is also found over a wide area of the Pacific Ocean from Indonesia to Japan and to the Marshall Islands, Wallis and Futuna and Fiji, but mainly centered on the Philippines.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Conus magus Linnaeus, 1758.  Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=215429 on 18 July 2011.
2. ^ George Washington Tryon, Manual of Conchology vol. VI, p. 53; 1879
3. ^ http://nihrecord.od.nih.gov/newsletters/2005/03_01_2005/story03.htm

• Vine, P. (1986). Red Sea Invertebrates. Immel Publishing, London. 224 pp
• 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 magus; accessed: 23 July 2011