Conus catus facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Conus catus
Shell of Conus catus
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Synonyms
Conus (Pionoconus) catus Hwass in Bruguière, 1792 accepted, alternate representation Conus catus var. fuscoolivaceus Dautzenberg, 1937 Conus catus var. granulata Wils, 1971 (unavailable name) Conus catus var. rubrapapillosa Dautzenberg, 1937 Conus collisus var. granulosus Barros e Cunha, 1933 (invalid: junior homonym of C. arenatus var. granulosa Lamarck, 1822) Conus discrepans G.B. Sowerby II, 1833 Conus reflectus G. B. Sowerby III, 1877 Conus reflexus G. B. Sowerby III, 1887 Cucullus nubilis Röding, 1798 Pionoconus catus (Hwass in Bruguière, 1792)

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

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 an adult shell varies between 24 mm and 52 mm. The shell is bulbous, with a convex, striate spire. The body whorl is striate, the striae rounded, usually obsolete above, granular below, olive, chestnut-, chocolate- or pink-brown, variously marbled and flecked with white, often faintly white-banded below the middle. In the variety nigropunctatus, the shell is colored as above and encircled by series of chocolate-colored dots.

Distribution

This species occurs in the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean off the Aldabra Atoll, Chagos, Madagascar, Mauritius, Tanzania and KwaZuluNatal; in the tropical Indo-West Pacific Region (Papua New Guinea, Marquesas, New Caledonia); off Australia (New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia).