Mo. 102 EGG CASE OF CONUS ( Cone Snail)

 

Phylum : Mollusca

Class    : Gastropoda

Order  : Neogastropoda

Family  : Conidae

Genus  :  Conus

DESCRIPTION

Conus is a genus of predatory sea snails, or cone snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Conidae. Prior to 2009, cone snail species had all traditionally been grouped into the single genus Conus. The thick shell of species in the genus Conus sensu stricto, is obconic, with the whorls enrolled upon themselves. The spire is short, smooth or tuberculated. The narrow aperture is elongated with parallel margins and is truncated at the base. The operculum is very small relative to the size of the shell. It is corneous, narrowly elongated, with an apical nucleus, and the impression of the muscular attachment varies from one-half to two-thirds of the inner surface. The outer lip shows a slight sutural sinus. Species in the genus Conus sensu stricto can be found in the tropical and subtropical seas of the world, at depths ranging from the sublittoral to 1,000 m. They are very variable in some of their characters, such as the tuberculation of the spire and body whorl, striae, colors and the pattern of coloring. Many fossil species have been described; they are extensively distributed, and first appear in Cretaceous strata.

IUCN Status: Endangered