Conus ambiguus, common name the doubtful cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.
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 Conus ambiguus was originally discovered and described in both identical Latin and English language texts by Lovell Augustus Reeve in 1844.
Reeve's type description reads as follows:
The shell of Conus ambiguus is whitish, with obscure, light brown bands, and longitudinal streaks. The spire is ornamented with arched brownish spots.
The height of the shell is .
Dimensions of the shell of type specimen is 39 x 22 mm."Conus ambiguus Reeve, 1844". The Conus Biodiversity website, accessed 20 March 2010. The type specimen is stored in Zoölogisch Museum Amsterdam (Zoological Museum of the University of Amsterdam).
Distribution The type locality was not specified by Reeve. This species occurs in the Atlantic Ocean off West Africa (Senegal, Guinea Bissau) and Angola.
References This article incorporates public domain text from references.Tryon G. W. (1884). Manual of Conchology, structural and systematic, with illustrations of the species. Volume 6. Conidae, Pleurotomidae. page 13. Plate 3, figure 41-42.
Kiener L.C. 1844-1850. Spécies général et iconographie des coquilles vivantes. Vol. 2. Famille des Enroulées. Genre Cone (Conus, Lam.), pp. 1-379, pl. 1-111 [pp. 1-48 (1846); 49-160 (1847); 161-192 (1848); 193-240 (1849); 241-(assumed to be 1850); plates 4,6 (1844); 2-3, 5, 7-32, 34-36, 38, 40-50 (1845); 33, 37, 39, 51-52, 54-56, 57-68, 74-77 (1846); 1, 69-73, 78-103 (1847); 104-106 (1848); 107 (1849); 108-111 (1850)]. Paris, Rousseau & J.B. Baillière 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
External links
Cone Shells - Knights of the Sea