Common Name

"Golden Cone"

Status

Regarded as a valid species.

Type Locality

Asiatic Ocean to Philippine Islands, (erroneous), corrected (Clench & Bullock) Island of Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles

Distribution

Endemic to Curaçao and Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles

Maximum Reported Size

73,5 mm

Description

Mean shell length. Body whorl relatively high in relation to shell height. Spire rather short to moderately elevated, straight-sided to very weakly concave-sided, outline of body whorl straight or very slightly convex, its surface with granulated spiral threads, mainly near the base. Shoulder of the body whorl and spire whorls strongly coronated. Proroconch sharply raised as a small knob on the more or less bluntly rounded first teleoconch whorls. Aperture only very slightly broadening towards the base. No internal restriction on the anterior third of the columnella within the aperture (see C. mappa ). Colour purplish white with irregular large coalescing or occasionally isolated patches of orange, light brown, chocolate brown or black. On light areas numerous spiral lines of dark dots and dashes, on the dark areas – white dots, coinciding with the spiral threads ang granules. Inside the aperture white, in younger specimens outside colour showing through.

Habitat & Habits

Intertidal and subtidal; on reefs, rock platforms, sand bottoms or rock rubble, often sheltering beneath stones, rock or boulders and sand.

Discussion

C. aurantius can be separated from C. cedonulli, C. mappa, and C. curassaviensis, by its knobbed shoulder, the form of the protoconch and the early teleoconch whorls and the high body whorl. From C. pseudaurantius, it is distinguished by its larger size, the larger and more pronounced shoulder knobs, the more narrow base and the denser and more numerous dark dots and dashes on the light background. In very large and old specimens the knobs on the last half of the body whorl may become less pronounced or nearly obsolete.

References

• Enc. Méth. 1: p. 606, no. 2, (1798, Tab. Enc. Pl. 317, fig. 7).
• Revue Suisse de zoologie, Tome 92 – Fascicule 3, The Conus cedonulli complex: Historical review, taxonomy and biological observation, Danker L. N. Vink and Rudo van Cosel, Genève, octobre 1985.