Conus spurius
Species of sea snail
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Conus spurius, common name the alphabet cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.[1]
| Conus spurius | |
|---|---|
| |
| Lindaconus spurius | |
 | |
| Fossil, Pliocene | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Order: | Neogastropoda |
| Superfamily: | Conoidea |
| Family: | Conidae |
| Genus: | Conus |
| Species: | C. spurius |
| Binomial name | |
| Conus spurius Gmelin, 1791 | |
| Synonyms[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.
- Subspecies
- Conus spurius aureofasciatus Rehder & Abbott, 1951(synonym: Lindaconus spurius aureofasciatus (Rehder & Abbott, 1951))
- Conus spurius baylei Jousseaume, 1872 (synonyms: Conus baylei Jousseaume, 1872; Lindaconus spurius baylei (Jousseaume, 1872) )
- Conus spurius lorenzianus Dillwyn, 1817 (synonyms: Conus flammeus Lamarck, 1810 (invalid: junior secondary homonym of Cucullus flammeus Röding, 1798; C. phlogopus is a replacement name); Conus lorenzianus Dillwyn, 1817; Conus phlogopus Tomlin, 1937; Conus undatus Kiener, 1847; Lindaconus spurius lorenzianus (Dillwyn, 1817))
- Conus spurius spurius Gmelin, 1791 (synonym: Lindaconus spurius spurius (Gmelin, 1791))
Distribution
This marine species occurs from East Florida to Venezuela; also off the West Indies.
Description
Larval stage
Conus spurius larvae hatch from egg capsules, swim for a couple of hours at most, then settle to the bottom as young adults.
Aided by currents, it is at this larval stage when range extension of the species is achieved.
