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Common Name

"Armadillo Cone"

Status

Regarded as a valid species.

Type Locality

"Taiwan"

Distribution

Taiwan, Philippines, Loyalty Is., Queensland Australia

Maximum Reported Size

70 mm

Description

Moderately large and solid. Last whorl ventricosely conical, outline convex at adapical fourth to half, less so to straight below. Shoulder subangulate to angulate. Spire of moderate height, outline concave. Larval shell of >3 whorls, maximum diameter 0.8-0.9 mm. First 3-8 postnuclear whorls tuberculate. Teleoconch sutural ramps almost flat, with 0-1 increasing to 3-5 spiral grooves. Last whorl with widely spaced spiral grooves; intervening ribbons often with a central groove.

Ground colour white. Ribbons with closely spaced solid or furcate axial brown dashes; paler brown background flecks often forming a broad spiral band on each side of centre. Larval whorls white. First 2-3 postnuclear sutural ramps immaculate. Following sutural ramps matching last whorl in colour pattern; radial lines continuous from shoulder to subshoulder area. Aperture white.

Shell Morphometry

L	60-79 mm
RW	0.30-0.41 g/mm (L 60-72 mm)
RD	0.51-0.57
PMD	0.77-0.84

Habitats & Habits

In 100-390 m.

Discussion

C. armadillo appears to vary little within and between geographic regions. It is very similar to C. australis. C. australis gabryae differs in a more ovate last whorl (PMD 0.72-0.80), with a more prominent sculpture of spiral ribs and ribbons, and a less regular colour pattern with long, rather continuous axial lines and streaks. C. australis australis is generally larger (L to 105 mm), has an usually narrower last whorl (RD 0.44-0.52) with a more prominent spiral sculpture of ribs and ribbons, and its late sutural ramps bear more spiral grooves. The aperture of C. a. australis is sometimes light violet and its last whorl colour pattern is more variable and less regular. Coomans et al. (1981, 1985b) and Richard (1990) regarded C. armadillo as a valid species closely related to C. australis, but Walls [1979] considered the oldest name for C. armadillo to be C. duplicatus Sowerby I. However, the original figure of C. duplicatus shows a shell with a rather straight-sided last whorl and a less regular last whorl pattern including longer axial brown lines; it probably refers to a deep subtidal form of C. australis.

References

• Sci. Rep. Yokohama natn. Univ, sect. 2 (18): p. 34, fig. 2