Conus ambiguus

Conus ambiguus, common name the doubtful cone,[2] is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.[3]

Conus ambiguus
Drawing of the shell of Conus ambiguus from its original type description.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Neogastropoda
Superfamily: Conoidea
Family: Conidae
Genus: Conus
Species:
C. ambiguus
Binomial name
Conus ambiguus
Reeve, 1844[2]
Synonyms[3]
  • Conus (Monteiroconus) ambiguus Reeve, 1844 accepted, alternate representation
  • Conus griseus Kiener, 1845[4]
  • Conus miser Boivin, 1864
  • Leptoconus gernanti Petuch, 1975
  • Monteiroconus ambiguus (Reeve, 1844)

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

Conus ambiguus was originally discovered and described in both identical Latin and English language texts by Lovell Augustus Reeve in 1844.[2]

Reeve's type description reads as follows:

The doubtful cone. Shell turbinated, smooth, ridged

towards the base, rather obsoletely engraved with very fine, festooned, longitudinal lines; white, palely stained with light brown; spire obtusely convex, slightly canaliculated, ornamented with

arched brownish spots; apex raised and pointed.

The shell of Conus ambiguus is whitish, with obscure, light brown bands, and longitudinal streaks. The spire is ornamented with arched brownish spots.[5]

The height of the shell is 1.5 inches (38 mm).[5]

Dimensions of the shell of type specimen is 39 x 22 mm.[6] The type specimen is stored in Zoölogisch Museum Amsterdam (Zoological Museum of the University of Amsterdam).[6]

Distribution

The type locality was not specified by Reeve.[2] This species occurs in the Atlantic Ocean off West Africa (Senegal, Guinea Bissau) and Angola.[3]

References

This article incorporates public domain text from references.[2][5]

  1. Monnier, E. (2012). "Conus ambiguus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012: e.T192331A2075683. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T192331A2075683.en.
  2. Reeve L. A. (February 1844) Conchologia iconica, or, Illustrations of the shells of molluscous animals. London, 1:
    Conus ambiguus Reeve, L.A., 1844
    f. 244. Plate 54, figure 244.
  3. Conus ambiguus Reeve, 1844. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 20 March 2010.
  4. Kiener L. C. (1845) Iconogrraphie t. 63, figure 2.
  5. Tryon G. W. (1884). Manual of Conchology, structural and systematic, with illustrations of the species. Volume 6. Conidae, Pleurotomidae. page 13. Plate 3, figure 41-42.
  6. "Conus ambiguus Reeve, 1844". The Conus Biodiversity website, accessed 20 March 2010.
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