Admiral cone
| Admiral cone | ||||||||||||
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Housing of Conus ammiralis |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Conus ammiralis | ||||||||||||
| Linnaeus , 1758 |
The Admiral cone ( Conus ammiralis ) is a screw from the family of the cone snails (genus Conus ), which in Indopazifik is widespread. It prefers to feed on other snails.
features
Conus ammiralis carries a moderately firm to heavy snail shell , which in adult snails reaches 3.5 to 11 cm in length and whose weight can vary by 50% depending on the wall thickness with the same circumference. The circumference of the body is conical to bulbous-conical, the outline is differently convex in the quarter towards the apex, almost straight towards the other end and occasionally slightly concave in the middle. The shoulder is angled, in the subspecies C. a. ammiralis smooth with the exception of nodes in individuals with granular ribs around the body, in the subspecies C. a. pseudocedonulli on the other hand strongly nodular. The thread is low to moderately high, its outline straight to concave. The Protoconch has a maximum diameter of 0.9 mm. The following 4 whorls are slightly nodular, in C. a. pseudocedonulli , however, all whorls are nodular. The seam ramps of the Teleoconch are flat to slightly concave and have an increasing or 4 to 6 fine spiral grooves, which are replaced by numerous spiral strips in the last three circumferences. At the base of the body, weak to obsolete spiral ribs are usually densely packed. In some populations, such as the Moluccas and the Solomon Islands, there are also individuals with granular housing surfaces.
The basic color of the housing is white. The circumference of the body has 2 to 6 pale orange to dark brown spiral stripes of different widths, in which dark spiral as well as axial lines run and which are interrupted by small to large, white, sometimes connected tent-shaped spots. Under the shoulder at the base and between the colored stripes, fine yellow to light brown lines form a delicate network with less tent-like spots. This pattern can vary. The protoconch is pink. The first seam ramps of the Teleoconch are usually worn and have a pink to white color, sometimes with brown spots on the outer edges. The later sewing ramps have light to dark brown radiating spots with darker radial lines. The case mouth is white, further inside it is occasionally orange-brown. The periostracum is light brown, thin, translucent and smooth.
The top of the foot is white with brown spots and a middle black spot on the front end. The front edge of the foot is orange-red, the rear edge orange, the side edges black. At the back, black stripes run sideways over the top of the foot. The sole of the foot is light brown to white with brown spots, the mucous gland of the foot is outlined in red. The head (rostrum) is white and changes to light brown next to the antennae. The proboscis (proboscis) is white, further back yellow and front orange-red. The white antennae have an orange-red tip and a dorsal black spot at the base. The siphon is white and distally orange-red with a black band on about a third of the top. It is spotted brown across the proximal section, darker on the back.
The radula teeth, which are connected to a poison gland, have two barbs at the tip and are serrated, ending in a prong.
distribution and habitat
Conus ammiralis is found in the Indo-Pacific in the Red Sea , around the Mascarene Islands , Fiji , Vietnam , the Indomalayic Archipelago, the Philippines , Marshall Islands , New Caledonia , the Solomon Islands , Thailand , Vanuatu and Australia ( Northern Territory , Queensland , Western Australia ) in depths of 2 m Widespread up to 240 m: in Queensland 50 to 150 m, the Philippines 20 to 240 m. It lives on fine to coarse and muddy sand, often under rocks or between algae.
Development cycle
Like all cone snails, Conus ammiralis is sexually separate and the male mates with the female with his penis . The female lays eggs about 331 µm in size, from which it is concluded that the Veliger larvae swim freely for at least 12 days before they sink down and metamorphose into crawling snails .
Diet and predators
The prey of Conus ammiralis consists mainly of snails , especially wing snails (Strombidae). However, he himself is captured by the marble cone ( Conus marmoreus ).
literature
- George Washington Tryon: Manual of Conchology, structural and systematic, with illustrations of the species , vol. VI; Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 1884. C [onus] ammiralis Linn., P. 29.
- Jerry G. Walls: Cone Shells: A Synopsis of the Living Conidae TFH Publications, Neptune (New Jersey) 1979. pp. 86-88.
- Dieter Röckel, Werner Korn, Alan J. Kohn: Manual of the Living Conidae Vol. 1: Indo-Pacific Region . Verlag Christa Hemmen, Wiesbaden 1995. The texts on the individual cone snail species of the Indo-Pacific are published on The Conus Biodiversity website with the permission of the authors (see web links).
Web links
- The Conus Biodiversity Website: Conus ammiralis Linnaeus, 1758.
- Conus (Leptoconus) ammiralis Linnaeus, 1758 . António Monteiro, The Cone Collector, 2011.
- Underwater Kwajalein: Conus ammiralis Linnaeus, 1758