Conus flavescens, common name the flame cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.[1]

Conus flavescens
Apertural and abapertural views of shell of Conus flavescens Sowerby, G.B. I, 1834
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. flavescens
Binomial name
Conus flavescens
Synonyms
  • Conus (Dauciconus) flavescens G. B. Sowerby I, 1834 · accepted, alternate representation
  • Conus flavescens flavescens G. B. Sowerby I, 1834 · accepted, alternate representation
  • Conus fulvus Fenaux, 1943 (invalid: junior homonym of Conus fulvus Schröter, 1803, and C. fulvus G. B. Sowerby III, 1889)
  • Gradiconus flavescens (G. B. Sowerby I, 1834)
  • Gradiconus flavescens flavescens (G. B. Sowerby I, 1834)
  • Tuckericonus flavescens (G. B. Sowerby I, 1834)
  • Tuckericonus flavescens flavescens (G. B. Sowerby I, 1834)
Conus flavescens Sowerby, G.B. I, 1834

There is one subspecies: Conus flavescens caribbaeus Clench, 1942 (synonyms: Conus caribbaeus Clench, 1942, Gradiconus flavescens caribbaeus (Clench, 1942), Tuckericonus caribbaeus (Clench, 1942), Tuckericonus flavescens caribbaeus (Clench, 1942))

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.

Distribution edit

Locus typicus: "Sowerby (1858) gave South Australia as the type locality which is incorrect.
Clench (1942) suggested that "the original specimens may have come from the Bahamas".
This area is here selected Locus typicus."[2]

This marine species occurs in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico off Florida, USA, the Greater Antilles and off the Bahamas.

Description edit

The maximum recorded shell length is 25 mm.[3] The smooth shell is grooved towards the base. Its color is yellowish, variegated with large irregular white blotches, arranged mostly just below the shoulder angle, and below the middle of the body whorl, so as to form two interrupted bands.[4]

Habitat edit

Minimum recorded depth is 0 m.[3] Maximum recorded depth is 122 m.[3]

References edit

  1. ^ Bouchet, P. (2015). Conus flavescens G. B. Sowerby I, 1834. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=420210 on 2015-04-29
  2. ^ Vink, D. 1987 -La Conchiglia XIX, No. 204-205, The Conidae of the Western Atlantic, Part VII, Page 25.
  3. ^ a b c Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". PLoS ONE 5(1): e8776. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0008776.
  4. ^ G.W. Tryon (1884) Manual of conchology, structural and systematic, with illustrations of the species, vol. VI; Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences

External links edit

Gallery edit

Below are several color forms: