Conus mercator

Conus mercator
Conus mercator Linnaeus, 1758
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Clade: Caenogastropoda
Clade: Hypsogastropoda
Clade: Neogastropoda
Superfamily: Conoidea
Family: Conidae
Genus: Conus
Species: C. mercator
Binomial name
Conus mercator
Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms[1]
  • Conus (Lautoconus) mercator Linnaeus, 1758 · accepted, alternate representation
  • Conus dealbatus A. Adams, 1855 (nomen dubium)
  • Conus lamarckii Kiener, 1845
  • Conus orri da Motta, 1982
  • Conus reticularis Bory de Saint Vincent, 1827
  • Conus reticulatus Born, 1778
  • Cucullus aurelius Röding, 1798
  • Lautoconus mercator (Linnaeus, 1758)

Conus mercator, common name the trader cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.[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.

Description

The size of the shell varies between 20 mm and 55 mm. The shell is yellowish or ash-gray, often faintly longitudinally lined with chestnut, with a broad band at the shoulder and a narrower one at the middle, of white closely reticulated with chestnut. [2]

Distribution

This species occurs in the Atlantic Ocean off Senegal.

References

  1. 1 2 Conus mercator Linnaeus, 1975.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 March 2010.
  2. ↑ G.W. Tryon (1884) Manual of Conchology, structural and systematic, with illustrations of the species, vol. VI; Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences

Below are several color forms:

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