Conus fergusoni

Conus fergusoni
	Apertural view of shell of Conus fergusoni G.B.Sowerby III, 1873, with operculum, measuring 65.3 mm in height, collected at low tide at Venudo Island, in Panama.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Superfamily:	Conoidea
Family:	Conidae
Genus:	Conus
Species:	C. fergusoni
Binomial name
	Conus fergusoni; G. B. Sowerby II, 1873[1]
Synonyms[2]
	Conus (Pyruconus) fergusoni G. B. Sowerby II, 1873 · accepted, alternate representation; Conus consanguineus E. A. Smith, 1880; Conus fulvocinctus Crosse, 1872 (ruled by ICZN Opinion 1502 not to have precedence over C. fergusoni); Pyruconus fergusoni G. B. Sowerby II, 1873;

Conus fergusoni, common name the Ferguson's cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.[2]

Specimen of Conus fergusoni with periostracum still intact.

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 an adult shell varies between 60 mm and 150 mm. The heavy shell has a slightly channeled spire. The white shell is lightly striolate transversely and is covered under a brown epidermis.[3]

Distribution

This species occurs in the Pacific Ocean off the Galapagos Islands and from the Gulf of California to Peru.

References

Sowerby (ii), G. B. II, 1873. Descriptions of five new Cones. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London: 145–146
Conus fergusoni G. B. Sowerby II, 1873. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 21 July 2011.
George Washington Tryon, Manual of Conchology vol. VI, p. 15; 1879

Filmer R.M. (2001). A Catalogue of Nomenclature and Taxonomy in the Living Conidae 1758–1998. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden. 388pp.
Tucker J.K. (2009). Recent cone species database. 4 September 2009 Edition
Petit, R. E. (2009), George Brettingham Sowerby, I, II & III: their conchological publications and molluscan taxa. Zootaxa. 2189: 1–218

External links

The Conus Biodiversity website
"Pyruconus fergusoni". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
Cone Shells – Knights of the Sea

Gallery

Conus fergusoni Sowerby, G.B. II, 1873
Conus fergusoni Sowerby, G.B. II, 1873

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[1] Sowerby (ii), G. B. II, 1873. Descriptions of five new Cones. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London: 145–146

[WoRMS-2] Conus fergusoni G. B. Sowerby II, 1873. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 21 July 2011.

[3] George Washington Tryon, Manual of Conchology vol. VI, p. 15; 1879