Conus mappa

Conus mappa
	Apertural and abapertural views of shell of Conus mappa Lightfoot, J. in Solander, 1786
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Superfamily:	Conoidea
Family:	Conidae
Genus:	Conus
Species:	C. mappa
Binomial name
	Conus mappa; Lightfoot, 1786
Synonyms
	Conus (Stephanoconus) mappa [Lightfoot], 1786 · accepted, alternate representation; Conus catenatus G. B. Sowerby III, 1879 (renamed Conus desmotus Tomlin, 1937, synonym of Conus mappa granarius Kiener, 1845); Conus cedonulli var. mappa Hwass in Bruguière, 1792; Conus cedonulli var. surinamensis Hwass in Bruguière, 1792 (invalid: junior homonym of Conus ammiralis var. surinamensis Gmelin, 1791); Conus desmotus Tomlin, 1937 (synonym of Conus mappa granarius Kiener, 1845); Conus mappa Hwass in Bruguière, 1792 (synonym of Conus mappa Lightfoot, 1786); Conus surinamensis Hwass in Bruguière, 1792; Leptoconus mappa (Lightfoot, 1786); Protoconus mappa (Lightfoot, 1786); Tenorioconus mappa (Lightfoot, 1786);

Conus mappa is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.^[1]

There are two recognized subspecies:

Conus mappa jesusramirezi (Cossignani, 2010)
Conus mappa trinitarius Hwass in Bruguière, 1792.^[2]
Conus mappa granarius Kiener, 1845.:^[3] synonym of Conus granarius

The junior homonym Conus mappa Crosse, 1858 is a synonym of Conus eldredi Morrison, 1955.

Like all species within the genus Conus, these snails are predatory and venomous. They are capable of "stinging" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not at all.

Description

The size of the wide shell varies between 36 mm and 67 mm. The spire contains small nodules and has a smooth shoulder. The body whorl is smooth and has a very variable color pattern of milkish white to pinkish white with two spiral bands of greenish yellow to darker brown. These bands are broken into irregular patches. The spiral whorls show very fine longitudinal grooves. The aperture is whitish.^[4]^[5]

Distribution

This species occurs in the Caribbean Sea off Venezuela, Trinidad - and Barbados where it occurs only at 85 fathoms/155 metres depth

References

^ ^a ^b Conus mappa Lightfoot, 1786. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 7 August 2011.
^ Conus mappa trinitarius Hwass in Bruguière, 1792. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 11 September 2011.
^ Conus mappa granarius Kiener, 1845. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 11 September 2011.
^ Henry E. Coomans, Conidae with smooth and granulated shells; Malacologia 14 (1973)
^ Danker L.N. Vink and Rudo Von Cosel,.The Conus cedonulli complex: Historical review, taxonomy and biological observations; Revue suisse de zoologie t. 92 fasc. 3–4

Holeman J; and Kohn A.J. (1970), The identity of Conus mappa (Lightfoot), C. insularis Gmelin, C. aurantius Hwass in Bruguière and Hwass's infraspecific taxa of C. cedonulii; Journal of Conchology 27 135:137
Tucker J.K. & Tenorio M.J. (2013) Illustrated catalog of the living cone shells. 517 pp. Wellington, Florida: MdM Publishing.
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