Conus achatinus
Encyclopedia
Conus achatinus, common name the turtle cone, is a species of sea snail
, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family
Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.
These snails are predatory and venomous. They are capable of "stinging" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not at all.
and rounded shoulders. The body whorl
is rounded with convex sides, sometimes with granular striae below. The shell is pale blue, marbled with pinkish or purplish white and olivaceous-brown, under a light brown, thin epidermis, everywhere encircled by close-set narrow brown lines, which are usually broken up into brown and white articulations.
and in the Indian Ocean along the Mascarene Basin; in the Indo-West Pacific. It is variable throughout its range.
Sea snail
Sea snail is a common name for those snails that normally live in saltwater, marine gastropod molluscs....
, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.
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 35 mm and 100 mm. The shell is bulbous, with a somewhat elevated, lightly striated spireSpire (mollusc)
A spire is a descriptive term for part of the coiled shell of mollusks. The word is a convenient aid in describing shells, but it does not refer to a very precise part of shell anatomy: the spire consists of all of the whorls except for the body whorl...
and rounded shoulders. The body whorl
Body whorl
Body whorl is part of the morphology of a coiled gastropod mollusk.- In gastropods :In gastropods, the body whorl, or last whorl, is the most recently-formed and largest whorl of a spiral or helical shell, terminating in the aperture...
is rounded with convex sides, sometimes with granular striae below. The shell is pale blue, marbled with pinkish or purplish white and olivaceous-brown, under a light brown, thin epidermis, everywhere encircled by close-set narrow brown lines, which are usually broken up into brown and white articulations.
Distribution
This species occurs in the Red SeaRed Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
and in the Indian Ocean along the Mascarene Basin; in the Indo-West Pacific. It is variable throughout its range.