ABSTRACT
Shells of all cone snails are typically cone shaped. They are wide at one end and narrow at the base. All have spires (whorls above the body whorl) of varying heights at the wide end. A whorl is a full turn of the shell. Shell
bodies (whorls) can be dull to very shiny, and smooth to lined and bumpy. The shell’s aperture is long and narrow and does not have an operculum. A living cone animal has a long foot. The head which is thin has two tentacles, each with an eye about halfway down the outer surface. A flap of tissue called the mantle lines the inside of the shell and is rolled to form a colored siphon that extends beyond the shell and draws water into the gills. The stinging proboscis is normally retracted. Radular teeth are contained in the radular sac; and the size, number, and design of these teeth varies by species. Living shells are well-camouflaged or buried in sand. These living shells are covered with a brown skin-like periostracum, which is the foundation for shell development. The periostracum is often encrusted with coralline algae in species that do not completely bury themselves. Size of cone snails varies widely from 1.3 cm to 21.6 cm in length (Figures 2.1-2.2).
