Conus ermineus
Conus ermineus, common name the turtle cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.[1]
Conus ermineus | |
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Apertural and abapertural views of shell of Conus ermineus Born, I. von, 1778 | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Gastropoda |
Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
Order: | Neogastropoda |
Superfamily: | Conoidea |
Family: | Conidae |
Genus: | Conus |
Species: | C. ermineus |
Binomial name | |
Conus ermineus Born, 1778 | |
Synonyms[1] | |
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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.
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Distribution
This species occurs in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico to South America; in the Atlantic Ocean off West Africa and the Cape Verdes; in the Indian Ocean off Tanzania.
Description
The maximum recorded shell length is 103 mm.[2]
Conantokin-E is a toxin derived from the venom of Conus ermineus.
It is a fishing eating species. Utilizes specialized hollow harpoon like radula tooth to harpoon small fish and paralyze them with venom to facilitate swallowing.
Venom
Conus ermineus is a venomous species and capable of stinging humans, so it should be treated with caution. A delta-conotoxin (delta-EVIA) isolated from the venom of C. ermineus inhibits the inactivation of vertebrate Na + neural channels.[3]
References
- Conus ermineus Born, 1778. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 March 2010.
- 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.
- Barbier, Julien; Lamthanh, Hung; Le Gall, Frédéric; Favreau, Philippe; Benoit, Evelyne; Chen, Haijun; Gilles, Nicolas; Ilan, Nitza; Heinemann, Stefan H.; Gordon, Dalia; Ménez, André (6 February 2004). "A delta-conotoxin from Conus ermineus venom inhibits inactivation in vertebrate neuronal Na+ channels but not in skeletal and cardiac muscles". The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 279 (6): 4680–4685. doi:10.1074/jbc.M309576200. ISSN 0021-9258. PMID 14615484. S2CID 23432288.
- Petit, R. E. (2009). George Brettingham Sowerby, I, II & III: their conchological publications and molluscan taxa. Zootaxa. 2189: 1–218
- Puillandre N., Duda T.F., Meyer C., Olivera B.M. & Bouchet P. (2015). One, four or 100 genera? A new classification of the cone snails. Journal of Molluscan Studies. 81: 1–23
Gallery
- Conus ermineus Born, I. von, 1778
- Conus ermineus Born, I. von, 1778
- Conus ermineus Born, I. von, 1778
External links
- The Conus Biodiversity website
- Cone Shells – Knights of the Sea
- "Chelyconus ermineus". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
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