These snails are predatory and venomous. They are capable of "stinging" humans.
Description
The size of the shell varies between 44 and 68 mm (1.7 and 2.7 in). Conus purus is white with a tented pattern tinged with reddish brown. The spire of the shell can range from flat to conical. Each individual cone shell has a different shell form, color, and pattern.[2] The spire of the cone comes to spire or a point.[3] Additionally, the animal has brown mottling and is tan, with distinct black, white, and red tips on the siphon.[2]
Behavior
Cone snails possess venom that is so strong that it may rapidly paralyze and ultimately kill victims.[4]Conus purus venom is a complicated mixture of substances that blocks various neuromuscular pathways, ultimately resulting in paralysis.[4] It is estimated that the number of bioactive chemicals in each snail's venom is over 100,000. The development of a potent antitoxin has been hampered by the venom's intricacy and the several target routes. [4]
Unlike most cones, juveniles settle where they hatch.[2]
Tucker J.K., Tenorio M.J. & Chaney H.W. (2011) A revision of the status of several conoid taxa from the Hawaiian Islands: Description of Darioconus levieni n. sp., Pionoconus striatus oahuensis n. ssp. and Harmoniconus paukstisi n. sp. (Gastropoda, Conidae). In: Severns M., Shells of the Hawaiian Islands - The Sea Shells: 501-514. Conchbooks, Hackenheim.
Tucker J.K. & Tenorio M.J. (2013) Illustrated catalog of the living cone shells. 517 pp. Wellington, Florida: MdM Publishing.
