Conus striatus

Pionoconus striatus
A shell of Pionoconus striatus
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. striatus
Binomial name
Pionoconus striatus Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms[2]
Conus chusaki da Motta, 1978 [1] Conus floridus G. B. Sowerby II, 1858 Conus leoninus Lightfoot, 1786 Conus subfloridus da Motta, 1985 Conus terminus Kiener Pionoconus striatus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Pionoconus striatus, common name the striated cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.^[2]

These snails are predatory and venomous. While they are piscivorous (eat fishes), they are capable of "stinging" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not at all.

Description

Abapertural view of the shell of Conus striatus

The shell is irregularly clouded with pink-white and chestnut or chocolate, with fine close revolving striae, forming the darker ground-color by close colored lines. The pointed spire is tessellated with chestnut or chocolate and white. Its shoulders are rounded and its sutures deep. The whorls are slightly channeled, carinate and striate. ^[3] The outer lip is characterized by a posterior flare. The length of the shell can reach 12 cm.

Distribution

This species occurs in the Red Sea, in the Indian Ocean along the Aldabra Atoll, Madagascar, the Mascarene Basin, Mauritius and Tanzania; in the Pacific Ocean along the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia and Thailand.

References

1. ^ Conus chusaki
2. ^ ^{a b} Conus striatus Linnaeus, 1758.  Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=215466 on 27 March 2010.
3. ^ George Washington Tryon, Manual of Conchology, vol. VI, p. 85; 1879

• 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 striatus chusaki (f); accessed: 16 July 2011
• Gastropods.com: Pionoconus striatus; accessed : 16 July 2011