In the alive animal the shell is covered with a thin sheet of tissue called periostracum. In some species, particularly in the ones with complex tent patterns, the periostracum is made of a thin yellowish film, while in other ones it’s thick, brownish, opaque and provided with little tufts often following the spires and the ridges of the shell itself.

The shell can be divided into two parts: the spire and the body whorl.

The spire represents the posterior part of the shell and may have a very variable conformation, not only between the different species but inside the same species too. In few species the spire has a length exceeding the third part of the whole shell while in most cases it’s not much raised, flat or even slightly concave. The spire is often characterised by conic tubercles (coronations) which are of great importance in Conus  identification even if very often they are much variable inside the same species too.

The beginning of the spiral winding of the shell is named apex or protoconch.

The body whorl contains most of the animal included the foot and the proboscis. It’s usually coloured with textures and patterns of different types and may be provided with relieves and sculptures with a spiral or lengthwise course.

The animal comes out from the shell through a narrow and elongated opening called aperture or mouth. The free part of the aperture is called outer lip while the opposite one is called inner lip. The outer lip is strong enough in the adult forms but rather fragile in the immature ones. In some species there is a relief in the medium part of the outer lip. There are not teeth unlike other similar molluscs. The aperture is often of a different colour compared to the remaining part of the shell, in pink or bluish tones, but lacking in coloured patterns.

In the anterior end there is a smooth and shining fold, the columella, that in cones is rather short, less than the third part of the inner lip whole length, and represents the axis round which the shell wraps itself up.

The outer lip’s upper margin is separated from the shell’s body by a U-shaped notch, the posterior canal, through which the animal excretes the wastes. The siphonal canal is situated in the lower margin of the outer lip.

The anal canal is of great importance for the classification of the Genus. It is an elongated cut made by the pallium’s margin on the second-last whorl of the shell. This notch isn’t easily visible from the outside unless breaking the specimen at the shoulder level. In the anal canal two parts may be distinguished: the track, that’s parallel to the shoulder, and the exit that presents a curve in direction of the shoulder that may change from species to species.

The operculum, made with horny material, has usually an elongated shape and a brownish colour but it may also present a rounded shape. In some species it may be absent. The presence of the operculum may be the proof that the shell is picked up alive. As the operculums of many species are almost identical they don't allow a reliable identification of the Conus.

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Genus Conus     Body Anatomy     Radular System  Cones Venom     Distribution