![]() Some species color patterns may be partially or completely hidden under an opaque layer of periostracum. The shells of cone snails are often brightly colored with a variety of patterns. The larger species of cone snails can grow up to 23 cm (9.1 in) in length. The outer lip is simple, thin, and sharp, without a callus, and has a notched tip at the upper part. The aperture is elongated and narrow with the sharp operculum being very small. The protruding parts of the top of the whorls, that form the spire, are in the shape of another more flattened cone. The shell is whorled in the form of an inverted cone, with the anterior end being narrower. The shells of cone snails vary in size and are conical in shape. As of 2009, more than 3,200 different species names have been assigned, with an average of 16 new species names introduced each year. This variety in color and pattern has led to the creation of a large number of known synonyms and probable synonyms, making it difficult to give an exact taxonomic assignment for many snails in this genus. They live on a variety of substrates, from the intertidal zone and deeper areas, to sand, rocks or coral reefs.Ĭone snails have a large variety of shell colors and patterns, with local varieties and color forms of the same species often occurring. Ĭone snails are found in all tropical and subtropical seas. While the majority of cone snails are found in warm tropical waters, some species have adapted to temperate/semi-tropical environments and are endemic to areas such as the Cape coast of South Africa, the Mediterranean, or the cool subtropical waters of southern California ( Californiconus californicus). Cone snails reach their greatest diversity in the Western Indo-Pacific region. Cone snails are typically found in warm tropical seas and oceans worldwide. There are over 900 different species of cone snails. Cone snail venom also shows promise for medical use. The sting of several larger species of cone snails can be serious, and even fatal to humans. The tooth, which is likened to a dart or a harpoon, is barbed and can be extended some distance out from the head of the snail at the end of the proboscis.Ĭone snail venoms are mainly peptide-based, and contain many different toxins that vary in their effects. Cone snails use a modified radula tooth and a venom gland to attack and paralyze their prey before engulfing it. Cone snails are almost exclusively tropical in distribution.Īll cone snails are venomous and capable of stinging. Many species have colorful patterning on the shell surface. Cone snail species have shells that are roughly conical in shape. įossils of cone snails have been found from the Eocene to the Holocene epochs. The shells of cones display a dazzling variety of patterns and colours – these are just but very few examples of this diversity.A group of shells belonging to various species of cone snailsĬone snails, or cones, are highly venomous sea snails of the family Conidae. ![]() This enables the species to hang suspended from a ledge while hunting schools of fish as they pass by. Others, for instance Conus geographus, one of the most venemous of all cone snails, is extremely lightweight. ![]() Some species have extremely thick, solid shells. Others, targeting less mobile animals, can act more slowly.Ĭone snails dissolve the inner parts of their shells to make room for the animal as it grows – a helpful feature when their prey can equal their own size. Venoms adapted to fishes act immediately, as otherwise the fish will easily escape before the venom takes hold. Different species flaunt different venoms, ingeniously adapted to incapacitate various prey. All of this happens in the blink of an eye. Upon detecting unsuspecting prey, they will act with blinding speed, unleashing a chain of functions in their complex venom apparatus – a large muscular bulb will contract, forcing a venom cocktail through a convoluted gland before it is injected through a sharp, hollow, often harpoon-shaped tooth held firmly by their proboscis. ![]() Equipped with venoms among the most potent in the animal kingdom, they hunt for bristle worms, a wide range of fish species, even other molluscs.
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