Conus textile
A live individual of Conus textile, head end towards the right
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Neogastropoda
Superfamily: Conoidea
Family: Conidae
Genus: Conus
Species:
C. textile
Binomial name
Conus textile
Synonyms[2]

See "List of synonyms"

Apertural view of Conus textile textile forma archiepiscopus

Conus textile, the textile cone or the cloth of gold cone[3] is a venomous species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails, cone shells or cones. Textile cone snails live mostly in the Indian Ocean, along the eastern coast of Africa and around Australia.[4]

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. Based on a report in 2004, about 30 human deaths have been attributed to cone snails.[5] In 2021, a teen nearly died after picking up a live textile cone.[6]

List of synonyms

Subspecies

Shell description

Conus textile, holotype of Conus dilectus at the Smithsonian Institution

Typical length of adults is about 9 cm to 10 cm (3.5 in to 3.9 in).[2] The maximum shell length for this species is 15 cm (5.9 in).[7] The color pattern of its shell resembles a cellular automaton named Rule 30.[8] The color of the shell is yellowish brown, with undulating longitudinal lines of brownness, interrupted by triangular white spaces. These last are irregularly disposed, but crowded at the shoulder, base and middle so as to form bands. The spire is similarly marked. The aperture is white.[9]

Distribution

C. textile lives in the waters of the Red Sea, the tropical Indo-Pacific, off Australia (New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia), New Zealand, the Indian Ocean from eastern Africa to Hawaii, and French Polynesia.[10]

Ecology

Life cycle

The female lays several hundred eggs at a time, which hatch after about 16 or 17 days. After hatching, the larvae float around in the current for approximately 16 days. Afterward, they settle at the bottom of the ocean. By this point their length is about 1.5 mm (0.06 in).[11]

Feeding habits

C. textile is a carnivorous species, and uses a radula (a biological microscopic needle) to inject a conotoxin to kill its prey. C. textile eats snails.[12] The proboscis, the tip of which holds the harpoon-like radular tooth, is capable of being extended to any part of its own shell. The living animal is a risk to any person handling it who has not taken proper care to protect exposed skin. Several human deaths have been attributed to this species.[13]

References

  1. ^ Duda, T. (2013). "Conus textile". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T192316A2071675. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T192316A2071675.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b "World Register of Marine Species". Conus textile Linnaeus, 1758. 2009. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
  3. ^ "Conus textile". Archived from the original on July 17, 2003. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  4. ^ Peters, Howard; O'Leary, Bethan C.; Hawkins, Julie P.; Carpenter, Kent E.; Roberts, Callum M. (2013-12-23). "Conus: First Comprehensive Conservation Red List Assessment of a Marine Gastropod Mollusc Genus". PLOS ONE. 8 (12): e83353. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...883353P. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0083353. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3871662. PMID 24376693.
  5. ^ Nelson, Laura (2004-06-01). "One slip, and you're dead..." Nature. 429 (6994): 798–799. doi:10.1038/429798a. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 15215832. S2CID 1698214.
  6. ^ "Teen nearly dies after holding venomous "shell" that can kill 700 people". Newsweek. 2021-04-27. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  7. ^ Poutiers, J. M. (1998). "Gastropods". In Carpenter, K. E. (ed.). The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific (PDF). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. Vol. 1. Rome: FAO. p. 628. ISBN 92-5-104051-6.
  8. ^ Stephen Coombes (February 2009). "The Geometry and Pigmentation of Seashells" (PDF). www.maths.nottingham.ac.uk. University of Nottingham. Retrieved 2013-04-10.
  9. ^ George Washington Tryon, Manual of Conchology vol. VI, p. 90; 1879
  10. ^ "Online Learning Center: Textile Cone Snail". Aquarium of the Pacific. Archived from the original on 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
  11. ^ "Textile Cone Snail". Archived from the original on 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
  12. ^ Conus textile Linnaeus, 1758. Textile cone, 107 mm
  13. ^ Cloth-of-Gold (Full Screen, Please) Archived 2012-02-10 at the Wayback Machine

Literature

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Conus textile.
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