Court cone snail
| Court cone snail | ||||||||||||
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Conus aulicus |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Conus aulicus | ||||||||||||
| Linnaeus , 1758 |
The Hofkegelschnecke , Fürstliche conical screw or the tubular cone ( Conus aulicus ) is a screw from the family of the cone snails (genus Conus ), which in Indopazifik is used and from other snails and small fish feeds.
features
Conus aulicus carries a moderately large to large, moderately firm to moderately heavy snail shell , which in adult snails reaches 6.5 to 16 cm in length. The circumference of the body is narrowly cylindrical to narrowly ovoid, sometimes cylindrical to ovoid, the outline straight with parallel sides to slightly convex, the left side concave and the quarter at the base of the right side straight. The case mouth is wider at the base than at the shoulder. The shoulder is almost angled or rounded. The thread is usually medium high, its outline straight to slightly concave. The Protoconch has two and a half to three whorls and measures a maximum of 0.8 mm. The first 2 to 5 whorls of the teleoconch are covered with tubercles, sometimes only weakly. The seam ramps of the Teleoconch are slightly concave to slightly convex with 1 to 3 to 4 increasing spiral grooves on the early whorls and numerous spiral stripes on the later ones. The quarter to third of the body is covered with fine, tightly packed spiral ribs at the base and spiral threads towards the shoulder.
The basic color of the case is white and often highlighted with pink. The area around the body is covered with reddish or blackish-brown areas that leave small to moderately large tent patterns and spots. Light brown areas are criss-crossed with dark brown to black lines, which are often divided by points in the basic color. In addition to predominantly white, there are predominantly brown peels. The whorls of the Protoconch and the sewing ramps of the first 3 to 5 whorls of the Teleoconch are monochrome white, whereas the later ones are covered with radial stripes and spots that correspond to the color pattern of the body circumference. The inside of the case mouth is cream to yellow or orange, in almost adults white.
The thin, translucent, smooth periostracum is grayish yellow to reddish brown.
The top of the foot is brown with black spots and turns orange-brown in the middle section. The front section bears a black central spot surrounded by some white markings. The laterally rear areas at the edge are covered with irregularly alternating black and white radial stripes and spots. The sole of the foot and the rostrum are white with brown spots, the antennae are white with brown tips. The siphon is white with brown spots, dorsolaterally black and with a red tip, but can also be red distally and brown proximally and has a black dotted transverse band a third to a half from the tip.
The radula teeth, which are connected to a poison gland, have two opposing barbs at the tip and a shaft that is sawn from the top to a seventh above the base, ending in a point.
distribution and habitat
With the exception of Hawaii, Conus aulicus is common in the Indo-Pacific at depths of 1 to 30 m. It lives on in coral reefs on subsoil with sand or coral shill next to living or dead corals.
Development cycle
Like all cone snails, Conus aulicus is sexually separate and the male mates with the female with his penis . The female lays eggs about 326 µm in size, from which it is concluded that the Veliger larvae swim freely for at least 13 days before they sink down and metamorphose into crawling snails .
nutrition
The prey of Conus aulicus consists mainly of snails and also small fish , which it stings with its radula teeth and immobilizes with the help of the poison from its poison gland .
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] aulicus Linn., P. 93.
- 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
- Conus (Darioconus) aulicus Linnaeus, 1758. António Monteiro, The Cone Collector, 2011.
- The Conus Biodiversity website: Conus aulicus Linnaeus, 1758
- Serge Rolland: Conus aulicus chasing Cypraea talpa outside the reef in New Caledonia. Seashell-Collector.com, 2005.