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Conus
lividus and its related cone shells :
help to identify them
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Author : Touitou
David
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Shells wich will be treated is this
article :
| Conus
lividus |
Hwass in
Bruguière, 1792 |
Conus
frigidus |
Lamarck,
1810 |
| Conus
moreleti |
Crosse,
1858 |
Conus
glans |
Hwass in
Bruguière, 1792 |
| Conus
sugillatus |
Sowerby,
1833 |
Conus
flavidus |
Reeve,
1848 |
| Conus
sanguinolentus |
Quoy &
Gaimard, 1834 |
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An incredible
mess... but with time, all those will be correctly identified.
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This article is mainly dedicated
to cone shells beginners and to amateur who never paid a real attention
to those common shells. When you start diving to collect your own
shells from the Indo-Pacific Ocean, you will often begin by finding
common species, and in many cases, you'll probably pick up Conus
lividus, Conus frigidus, Conus sanguinolentus, Conus flavidus and
maybe Conus muriculatus/sugillatus, Conus moreleti, Conus glans.
Even cleaned, those species can
be difficult to identify and while you snorkel, it can become a
real nightmare ! Those species can have crusting algae and corals
covering them and many times you can only see the aperture of the
shell ! Those shells are most of the time scratched, because they
usually do not burrow and lay often close to the reef where the
wave action is rough.
With their periostracum, they
roughly look like the same color in the water. Only shape and accurate
eye can distinguish those different species in order to not take
the same species over and over again…
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This suggestion for identification
is personal and not based on any book nor information. I base this
article on my field experiences and if you have things to add to
it, I shall surely add it to this page. Do not hesitate to send
me an e- mail !
Here is a short description of
habitats, rarity, and general things to know about these species.
Then you'll find pictures and explanations helping to identify them
and tips to be able to separate them while diving.
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A.
GENERAL INFORMATIONS AND INTRODUCING SPECIES
B. HELP IN IDENTIFYING CLEANED SHELLS
C. HELP IN IDENTIFYING
THEM WHILE DIVING
D. WORD OF THE END : THE EXCEPTIONS
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| From
left to right : C. flavidus, C. frigidus, C. sugillatus, C. lividus,
C. sanguinolentus & C. moreleti |
| A.
GENERAL INFORMATIONS |
| Conus
lividus & Conus sanguinolentus |
| It
might be the most common on the list. It can be found almost anywhere.
Those coming from the reef are often a little different from the ones
found in the calm waters close to the shore. Those from the reef are
often smaller and are corded/granulated
whiles the others are bigger, have a smooth
pattern and have less scratches. From this list, Conus lividus
is the one which can reach the biggest size. |
| Conus
lividus with smooth pattern |
| Conus
lividus with granulated
pattern |
| Conus
sanguinolentus looks very
similar to Conus lividus when found together. Once cleaned,
it is easy to separate them. This cone shell prefers the reef environment
to the coast one. In some places (like Seychelles) it can be found
in calm waters though. It is very common too. They are always corded/granulated,
like the C. lividus from the reef and are found together... |
| Conus
frigidus & Conus flavidus |
Conus
frigidus, a common shell,
is also a reef specie. It can be linked with Conus flavidus
and while hunting for shells, it is often difficult to separate them
easily. Conus frigidus generally has a corded/granulated surface
which is not the case of C. flavidus. If you can manage to
see the surface (through the crusted algae and corals) though…
In the Seychelles (Idian Ocean), Conus flavidus is very different
from C. frigidus and can be easily distinguished. |
| Conus
flavidus |
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| Conus
muriculatus & sugillatus |
Those
shells are sometime separated as different species and sometime Conus
sugillatus is considered as a form of Conus muriculatus.
It depends on the authors and collectors. In this article I shall
not separate them.
However, these species are really different from the others but are
often classified as Conus lividus. Conus muriculatus
is much smaller than C. sugillatus, and is often corded/granulated
& crowned while Conus sugillatus is smooth and reach much
bigger sizes. Anyway both are very different from Conus lividus
and its related species. Those can be considered as uncommon to rare
species.
It seems from personal experience, in Tahiti, that Conus muriculatus
is found next to the reef, inside the lagoon near the edge of channels
drop off, in 6-10m of water, while Conus sugillatus is found
very close to the shore, in muddy-sandy areas, in 1-2 meters of water.
But C. muriculatus here seem sometimes to be a juvenile C.
sugillatus...
I will only compare Conus sugillatus though, C. muriculatus
is a very small shell around 20mm and so not comparable to the species
listed before and below. |
| Conus
sugillatus |
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| Conus
moreleti |
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This is my favourite with C.
sugillatus. Conus moreleti, also an uncommon to rare
specie.
It is really close to Conus sanguinolentus, and only accurate
eyes may makes the difference while snorkeling. It is most of the
time covered with crusted algae just like Conus sanguinolentus
and lives close to the reef.
Even if it is more elongated and has different aperture color and
a darker animal, it can be easily spotted as a common Conus sanguinolentus.
Conus moreleti shall not
be corded/granulated like C. sanguinolentus though.I usually find
them together, so often I might pass over C. moreleti specimens
sometimes...
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| Conus
glans |
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This rare specie can sometimes
be named as a juvenile or small Conus frigidus.
It has a polymorphic shell which can also be close to the rare Conus
tenuistriatus.
When it is close to C. frigidus, it is corded/granulated
and has the same global color, but size and shape are different.
It is a very small shell and it is more "ventricosely conical".
And it is a small shell often around 15-25mm.
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B.
HELP IN IDENTIFYING CLEANED SHELLS
First separate crowned spire shells
than smooth spire ones :
- Crowned spire
: C. lividus / C. sanguinolentus / C. moreleti / C. muriculatus
- Not crowned spire : C. flavidus / C. frigidus
- Slighlty crowned spire : C. sugillatus
Quick sum-up of spire
differences between species :
a) Crowned spire species :
Conus
lividus (left) & Conus sanguinolentus
(right) :
Conus
moreleti (left) & Conus
sanguinolentus (right) :
b) Not Crowned spire species
:
Conus
frigidus (left) & Conus
flavidus (right) :
c) Slightly Crowned spire species
:
Conus
lividus (left & right) &
Conus sugillatus (center) :
C. HELP
IN IDENTIFYING THEM WHILE DIVING
This is the most difficult part.
First if you see many shells grouped, they might be common and should
not be considered as Conus moreleti & Conus sugillatus.
But you could find a locally good spot with those uncommon ones
though.
If the shell is full of crusted alage, try to get rid of part of
it by hitting the shell with someting like a knife.
Then if you see a crowned spire, then you are in front of C.
lividus, C. sanguinolentus or C. moreleti. If you see no banding,
no granulations and if the shell is elongate, dark, the animal very
dark and a narrow aperture, not regular with a nice and dark violine
color you might have Conus moreleti. If you see a banding
then it is Conus lividus. If you see no banding but with
granulated shell then it is Conus sanguinolentus.
If the shell has a smooth spire,
and is dark with no bandings it is C. sugillatus. If it has
white spire and banding, without any granulations, then it is C.
flavidus. And it is granulated, with a discret banding it may
be C. frigidus.
D. WORD
OF THE END : THE EXCEPTIONS
Of course nothing is never perfect
and shells may vary so much, depending of their habitat, that you
might encounter exceptions and hybrids. It is interesting to collect
such shells for their unique looking. Especially with Conus flavidus.
Here are some :
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