Leopard cone
| Leopard cone | ||||||||||||
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Enclosure of Conus leopardus |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Conus leopardus | ||||||||||||
| ( Röding , 1798) |
The leopard cone or the leopard cone snail ( Conus leopardus ) is a snail from the cone snail family (genus Conus ) that is common in the Indo-Pacific . It feeds on acorn worms .
features
Conus leopardus carries a very large, heavy snail shell , which in adult snails reaches 25 cm in length. The body is conical, the outline straight. The thread is low, its outline is convex or flat. The shoulder is rounded and smooth, the circumference of the body smooth with a cut and folded base. The basic color of the case is cream to ivory white with spiraling rows of dark brown, compact, elongated spots, the base white, the thread with blackish-brown spots. The thick, brown periostracum usually hides the pattern in living animals.
distribution and habitat
Conus leopardus is common in the Indo-Pacific . It lives in the intertidal zone on sand and often between aquatic plants, in Kwajalein preferably at depths of 3 to 15 m.
Development cycle
Like all cone snails, Conus leopardus is sexually separate and the male mates with the female with his penis . From the egg capsules deposited by the female, Veliger larvae hatch , which initially swim freely as plankton before they sink down and metamorphose into crawling snails .
food
Conus leopardus eats acorn worms , which it stings with its radula teeth , which are very small compared to other cone snails , and immobilizes them with the help of its venom from the venom gland .
literature
- Walter O. Cernohorsky: Tropical Pacific marine shells. Pacific Publications, Sydney / New York 1978. p. 129.
