Conus aulicus

Conus aulicus
	Apertural view of a shell of Conus aulicus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Superfamily:	Conoidea
Family:	Conidae
Genus:	Conus
Species:	C. aulicus
Binomial name
	Conus aulicus; Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms
	Conus (Darioconus) aulicus Linnaeus, 1758 accepted, alternate representation; Conus amadis var. aurantia Dautzenberg, 1937 (invalid: junior homonym of Conus aurantius Hwass in Bruguière, 1792); Conus aulicus var. propenudus Melvill, 1900; Conus aulicus var. roseus G. B. Sowerby II, 1834; Conus auratus Hwass in Bruguière, 1792; Conus aurifer Röding, P.F., 1798; Conus gracianus da Motta, 1982; Conus particolor Perry, 1810; Cucullus aurifer Röding, 1798; Darioconus aulicus (Linnaeus, 1758); Darioconus auratus Hwass, C.H. in Bruguière, J.G., 1792;

Conus aulicus, common name the princely cone, is a species of a predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails, cone shells or cones.^[1]

Description

The size of an adult shell varies between 65 mm and 163 mm. The shell is rather narrow and has an elevated spire. The color of the shell is chocolate-brown, covered by elevated close revolving lines of darker color. The surface is irregularly overlaid by subtriangular white spots, some of which are very large. The operculum is a very minute square on the dorsal surface of the hinder part of the foot.

The proboscis of Conus aulicus is varied with red and white.^[2]

Distribution

This marine species occurs in the Indian Ocean off Chagos^[1] and Mauritius;^[1] in the Indo-Pacific Region (excl. Hawaii).

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Bouchet, P. (2015). Conus aulicus Linnaeus, 1758. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=215471 on 2015-07-18
^ George Washington Tryon, Manual of Conchology, vol. VI p. 93; 1879

Michel, C. (1988). Marine molluscs of Mauritius. Editions de l'Ocean Indien. Stanley, Rose Hill. Mauritius
Filmer R.M. (2001). A Catalogue of Nomenclature and Taxonomy in the Living Conidae 1758 - 1998. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden. 388pp.
Tucker J.K. (2009). Recent cone species database. September 4, 2009 Edition
Tucker J.K. & Tenorio M.J. (2009) Systematic classification of Recent and fossil conoidean gastropods. Hackenheim: Conchbooks. 296 pp.
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

External links

"Darioconus aulicus". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
Conus Biodiversity Website: Conus aulicus
Cone Shells - Knights of the Sea

The color pattern of the shell of C. aulicus
Conus aulicus Linnaeus, C., 1758
Conus aulicus Linnaeus, C., 1758
C. aulicus

[WoRMS-1] Bouchet, P. (2015). Conus aulicus Linnaeus, 1758. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=215471 on 2015-07-18

[2] George Washington Tryon, Manual of Conchology, vol. VI p. 93; 1879

[1]

[2]