Mollusca · mollusks

Geography cone

Conus geographus

Conidae · cone snailsIUCN: Least Concern
Geography cone
Photo: Kerry Matz, National Institute of General Medical Services · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · resized

A venomous cone snail that engulfs fish with a net-like mouth.

Fun factIts venom contains insulin that sends nearby fish into hypoglycemic shock.

Waters
Indo-Pacific
Depth zone
Coral reefs
Diet
Small fish
Size
Shell up to 15 cm

Classification

Mollusca › Gastropoda › Neogastropoda › Conidae

  1. Kingdom Animalia animals
    • Many-celled organisms that eat other living things for energy (heterotrophs)
    • Cells have no cell walls
    • Most can move at some stage of life
  2. Clade Bilateria bilateral animals
    • Body has a left and right side that mirror each other (bilateral symmetry)
    • Head end with concentrated nerves; three tissue layers
    • Includes about 99% of all living animal species
  3. Clade Protostomia protostomes
    • In the embryo, the first opening usually becomes the mouth
    • Main nerve cord runs along the belly (ventral)
    • Includes mollusks, worms, and arthropods
  4. Clade Spiralia mollusks, worms & kin
    • Embryos usually divide in a spiral pattern (spiral cleavage)
    • Many have a swimming larva with a band of cilia (trochophore)
    • Includes mollusks and segmented worms
  5. Phylum Mollusca mollusks
    • Soft body with a muscular foot and a fold of tissue (mantle) that makes the shell
    • Most have a rasping, tongue-like ribbon of teeth (radula)
    • Includes snails, clams, octopuses, and chitons
  6. Class Gastropoda snails & slugs
    • Snails and slugs, most with a single, often coiled shell
    • Body twists 180 degrees during development (torsion)
    • Crawl on a broad muscular foot
  7. Subclass Caenogastropoda whelks, periwinkles & kin
    • Most have a single gill and a shell door (operculum)
    • Many have a siphon to sample water
    • Includes periwinkles, whelks, and conchs
  8. Order Neogastropoda whelks & cone snails
    • Mostly predators and scavengers
    • Long siphon in a groove (siphonal canal) at the shell opening
  9. Family Conidae cone snails
    • Cone snails: cone-shaped shells
    • Hunt with harpoon-like venomous teeth
  10. Genus Conus
    • Species in the same genus are very close relatives and often look alike.
  11. Species Conus geographus Geography cone

Closest relatives in the guide