Conus nux, common name the nut 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 The size of the shell varies between 10 mm and 26 mm. The shell is coronated with a rather depressed spire. It is granular striate towards the base. Its color is white, variously marbled with chestnut, often obscurely white-banded at the upper part and below the middle of the body whorl. The base is tinged with violet.G.W. Tryon (1884) Manual of Conchology, structural and systematic, with illustrations of the species, vol. VI; Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences
Distribution This species occurs in the Pacific Ocean off Southwestern Baja California, Mexico to Ecuador; off the Galápagos Islands.
References
Tucker J.K. & Tenorio M.J. (2013) Illustrated catalog of the living cone shells. 517 pp. Wellington, Florida: MdM Publishing. 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
Gallery
External links
The Conus Biodiversity website Cone Shells - Knights of the Sea