| elongate cone | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Neogastropoda |
| Superfamily: | Conoidea |
| Family: | Conidae |
| Subfamily: | Coninae |
| Genus: | Conus |
| Species: | C. mozambicus |
| Binomial name | |
| Conus mozambicus Hwass |
|
The elongate cone is a species of medium-sized sea snail, a predatory marine gastropod mollusc in the family Conidae, the cone snails or cone shells.
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The elongate cone is known off the southern African coast from Lüderitz Bay to Mossel Bay, subtidally in shallow water. The species is endemic to this region.[1]
The elongate cone has a medium-sized shell which may grow to 65mm in total length. It has a sharply pointed spire. The shell colour is dull and mottled with brown, and there may be darker blotches at the shoulder. The spire of the shell is stepped.[2]
The elongate cone feeds on polychaete worms. The egg capsules are vase-shaped and contain 19-23 eggs.[1]
Synonyms of the elongate cone include:
According to Branch (see reference below), there are two subspecies of this animal, Conus mozambicus mozambicus and Conus mozambicus lautus. The description given here is for C. mozambicus mozambicus.
C. mozambicus lautus has a shorter shell, is reddish-brown in colour and has a more oblique spire than C. mozambicus mozambicus. It replaces C. mozambicus mozambicus east of Cape Agulhas, and is found from there to southern KwaZulu-Natal.