Conus monachus

{{short description|Species of sea snail}}

{{Speciesbox

| taxon = Conus monachus

| image = Conus monachus 003.jpg

| image_caption = Apertural view of a shell of Conus monachus

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{Cite iucn|title=Supreme Cone Conus monachus|page=e.T192399A2088081| vauthors = Duda T |year=2013|access-date=6 April 2022|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T192399A2088081.en}}

| authority = Linnaeus, 1758

| synonyms_ref =

| synonyms = * Conus (Pionoconus) monachus Linnaeus, 1758 · accepted, alternate representation

  • Conus contusus Reeve, 1848
  • Conus frostianus Brazier, 1898
  • Conus nebulosus Gmelin, 1791
  • Conus vinctus A. Adams, 1855
  • Cucullus cinerarius Röding, 1798
  • Cucullus guttatus Röding, 1798
  • Cucullus maculosus Röding, 1798
  • Pionoconus monachus (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Pionoconus vinctus (A. Adams, 1855)

| display_parents = 3

}}

Conus monachus, common name the monastic cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails, cone shells or cones.{{cite web | vauthors = Bouchet P | date = 2015 | title = Conus monachus Linnaeus, 1758 | work = MolluscaBase | via = World Register of Marine Species | url = http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=215542 | access-date = 2015-11-04 }}

These snails are predatory and venomous. They are capable of stinging humans.

Description

The size of the shell varies between {{convert|18|mm|in|abbr=on}} and {{convert|74|mm|in|abbr=on}}. The shell is a little inflated and distantly grooved below. The spire is striate and somewhat convex. The shell is white, longitudinally marbled and flecked with dull blue or purple.{{cite book | url = https://archive.org/details/manualconch06tryorich | vauthors = Tryon GW | date = 1884 | title = Manual of Conchology, structural and systematic, with illustrations of the species | volume = VI | location = Philadelphia | publisher = Academy of Natural Sciences }} It captures its prey by using the "taser-and-tether" (harpoon) strategy. This means it stuns its prey by using venom and extends a proboscis from its rostrum and "hooks" the fish, the same way a harpoon would.{{cite journal | vauthors = Olivera BM, Seger J, Horvath MP, Fedosov AE | title = Prey-Capture Strategies of Fish-Hunting Cone Snails: Behavior, Neurobiology and Evolution | journal = Brain, Behavior and Evolution | volume = 86 | issue = 1 | pages = 58–74 | date = September 2015 | pmid = 26397110 | pmc = 4621268 | doi = 10.1159/000438449 }}

Distribution and habitat

This marine species occurs in the Indo-Pacific. It is found in the neritic zone and resides in muddy sand and under rocks.{{SeaLifeBase species|genus=Conus|species=monachus|id=106308|year=2022|month=April|name-list-style=vanc}}

References

{{Reflist}}

Further reading

{{refbegin}}

  • {{cite web | vauthors = Linnaeus C | date = 1758 | title = Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. | trans-title = The system of nature is divided into three kingdoms of nature, based on classes, orders, genera, species, with characters, differences, synonyms, and places. | language = Latin | edition = Tenth, reformed. | publisher = Laurentius Salvius | location = Holmiae (Stockholm) | url = http://gdz.sub.uni-goettingen.de/no_cache/dms/load/toc/?IDDOC=265100 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170613040751/http://gdz.sub.uni-goettingen.de/no_cache/dms/load/toc/?IDDOC=265100 | archive-date=2017-06-13 }}
  • {{cite journal | vauthors = Puillandre N, Duda TF, Meyer C, Olivera BM, Bouchet P | title = One, four or 100 genera? A new classification of the cone snails | journal = The Journal of Molluscan Studies | volume = 81 | issue = 1 | pages = 1–23 | date = February 2015 | pmid = 26300576 | pmc = 4541476 | doi = 10.1093/mollus/eyu055 | url = }}

{{refend}}