Conus rattus

Species of sea snail

Conus rattus

Two views of a shell of Conus rattus
Scientific classification
Domain:  | Eukaryota
Kingdom:  | Animalia
Phylum:  | Mollusca
Class:  | Gastropoda
Subclass:  | Caenogastropoda
Order:  | Neogastropoda
Superfamily:  | Conoidea
Family:  | Conidae
Genus:  | Conus
Species:  |

C. rattus

Binomial name
Conus rattus

Hwass in Bruguière, 1792

Synonyms[1]

* Conus (Rhizoconus) rattus Hwass in Bruguière, 1792 · accepted, alternate representation
* Conus chemnitzii Dillwyn, 1817
* Conus rattus var. tahitiensis Dautzenberg, 1933
* Conus semivelatus G. B. Sowerby III, 1882
* Conus taheitensis Reeve, 1843
* Conus tahitiensis Dautzenberg, 1933
* Conus taitensis Hwass in Bruguiere, 1792
* Conus viridis G. B. Sowerby II, 1857
* Rhizoconus rattus (Hwass in Bruguière, 1792)

Conus rattus, common name the rat cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.[1]

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

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The size of the shell varies between 25 mm and 70 mm. Typically found in water on sand or in crevices with a depth of 0 to −6,737 meters (0 to −22,103 ft).

The color of the shell is yellowish brown or ash-color, often with fine close chestnut revolving lines, with large white spots and maculations usually forming an interrupted central band and another at the shoulder. The shell has a flattish spire, rounded shoulders and several spiral ridges around the base of the body whorl. The aperture is pale purple.[2][1]

## Distribution

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This species occurs in the Red Sea; in the Indian Ocean off Madagascar, Tanzania, Chagos, Aldabra, the Mascarene Islands; as an alien in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea; in the tropical Pacific Ocean and off Polynesia; off Australia (Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia]

## References

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1. ^ a b c Conus rattus Hwass in Bruguière, 1792. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 March 2010.
2. ^ G.W. Tryon (1884) Manual of Conchology, structural and systematic, with illustrations of the species, vol. VI; Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences

* Bruguière, M. 1792. Encyclopédie Méthodique ou par ordre de matières. Histoire naturelle des vers. Paris : Panckoucke Vol. 1 i-xviii, 757 pp.
* Dillwyn, L.W. 1817. A Descriptive Catalogue of Recent Shells, arranged according to the Linnaean method; with particular attention to the synonymy. London : John and Arthur Arch 2 volumes 1092 + 29 pp.
* Reeve, L.A. 1843. Monograph of the genus Conus. pls 1–39 in Reeve, L.A. (ed.). Conchologica Iconica. London : L. Reeve & Co. Vol. 1.
* Sowerby, G.B. (2nd) 1857. Thesaurus Conchyliorum. Vol. 3 pp. 16–20.
* Sowerby, G.B. (3rd) 1882. Descriptions of new species of shells in the collection of Mr. J. Cosmo Melvill. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1882: 117–121
* Dautzenberg, P. & Bouge, J.L. 1933. Les Mollusques Testacés Marins des Établissements Français de L'Océanie. Journal de Conchyliologie 77(1): 41–113
* Demond, J. 1957. Micronesian reef associated gastropods. Pacific Science 11(3): 275–341, fig. 2, pl. 1
* Wilson, B.R. & Gillett, K. 1971. Australian Shells: illustrating and describing 600 species of marine gastropods found in Australian waters. Sydney : Reed Books 168 pp.
* Salvat, B. & Rives, C. 1975. Coquillages de Polynésie. Tahiti : Papéete Les editions du pacifique, pp. 1–391.
* Cernohorsky, W.O. 1978. Tropical Pacific Marine Shells. Sydney : Pacific Publications 352 pp., 68 pls.
* Kay, E.A. 1979. Hawaiian Marine Shells. Reef and shore fauna of Hawaii. Section 4 : Mollusca. Honolulu, Hawaii : Bishop Museum Press Bernice P. Bishop Museum Special Publication Vol. 64(4) 653 pp.
* Drivas, J.; Jay, M. (1987). Coquillages de La Réunion et de l'Île Maurice. Collection Les Beautés de la Nature. Delachaux et Niestlé: Neuchâtel. ISBN 2-603-00654-1. 159 pp.
* Wilson, B. 1994. Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranch Gastropods. Kallaroo, WA : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 2 370 pp.
* Röckel, D., Korn, W. & Kohn, A.J. 1995. Manual of the Living Conidae. Volume 1: Indo-Pacific Region. Wiesbaden : Hemmen 517 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

## Gallery

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* Conus rattus Hwass in Bruguière, J.G., 1792

* Conus rattus Hwass in Bruguière, J.G., 1792

* Conus rattus Hwass in Bruguière, J.G., 1792

* Conus rattus Hwass in Bruguière, J.G., 1792

* Conus rattus Hwass in Bruguière, J.G., 1792

* Conus rattus Hwass in Bruguière, J.G., 1792

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Conus rattus.

* The Conus Biodiversity website
* [1]
* Cone Shells - Knights of the Sea
* "Rhizoconus rattus". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 16 January 2019.

Taxon identifiers

Conus rattus|

* Wikidata: Q1307715
* AFD: Conus_(Rhizoconus)_rattus
* BOLD: 85113
* CoL: XY64
* GBIF: 5728171
* iNaturalist: 432163
* IRMNG: 11446619
* IUCN: 192428
* NCBI: 72283
* OBIS: 215458
* Paleobiology Database: 147570
* SeaLifeBase: 91957
* WoRMS: 215458