Conus kulkulcan is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails or cone shells.
Like all species within the genus Conus, these snails are venomous and capable of stinging humans. Their name references Kukulkan, a Mayan deity. It can be found in shallow sandy substrates in the western Caribbean and is assessed as least concern by the IUCN.
Description The shell is cone-shaped (like other species in Conidae) with a short, pointed spire and reaches up to 36 mm in length.Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". PLoS ONE 5(1): e8776. . It typically exhibits a deep red coloration, often with a lighter band in the middle, and the mantle of live specimens is dark red. Some specimens are blue-gray as described by E.J. Petuch, the first to discover the species.Petuch, E. J. (1980). A new Falsilyria (Volutidae) and a new Conus (Conidae) from Roatan Island, Honduras (Atlantic). The Nautilus. 94(3): 115-118, figs. 1-15., available online at https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8274621 Habitat This marine species can be found in the western Caribbean Sea, with records from Belize, Honduras (notably Roatán Island), Cuba and Panama. It lives in shallow marine environments on sandy substrates beneath coral, at depths of 2-15 meters.
References
Petuch, E. J. 1980. Nautilus. 94 (3): 117, figure 11–15. Tucker J.K. & Tenorio M.J. (2009) Systematic classification of Recent and fossil conoidean gastropods. Hackenheim: Conchbooks. 296 pp. 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
The Conus Biodiversity website Cone Shells – Knights of the Sea