Conus excelsus
Encyclopedia
Conus excelsus, common name
the excelsior cone, is a species of predatory sea snail
, a marine
gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails.
compared to most cone shells, and thus it is exceptionally long relative to its width. This, combined with its overall rarity, makes it desirable to shell collectors.
The shell coloration consists of orangish to yellow patterns against a white background.
, but also as north as southern Japan and as far east as New Guinea
and the Solomon Islands
.
The species is rare but not endangered.
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
the excelsior cone, is a species of predatory sea snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
, a marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails.
Shell description
The shell has a very high spireSpire (mollusc)
A spire is a descriptive term for part of the coiled shell of mollusks. The word is a convenient aid in describing shells, but it does not refer to a very precise part of shell anatomy: the spire consists of all of the whorls except for the body whorl...
compared to most cone shells, and thus it is exceptionally long relative to its width. This, combined with its overall rarity, makes it desirable to shell collectors.
The shell coloration consists of orangish to yellow patterns against a white background.
Distribution
Conus excelsus is an Indo-Pacific species found principally around the PhilippinesPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, but also as north as southern Japan and as far east as New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
and the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
.
The species is rare but not endangered.