Conus mercator

Conus mercator
	Conus mercator Linnaeus, 1758
Conservation status
	; Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Superfamily:	Conoidea
Family:	Conidae
Genus:	Conus
Species:	C. mercator
Binomial name
	Conus mercator; Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms
	Conus (Lautoconus) cacao Ferrario, 1983; Conus (Lautoconus) fernandi (Petuch & Berschauer, 2018); Conus (Lautoconus) lamarckii Kiener, 1847; Conus (Lautoconus) mercator Linnaeus, 1758 · accepted, alternate representation; Conus (Lautoconus) orri Ninomiya & da Motta, 1982; Conus cacao Ferrario, 1983; Conus dealbatus A. Adams, 1855 (nomen dubium); Conus lamarckii Kiener, 1845; Conus orri da Motta, 1982; Conus reticularis Bory de Saint Vincent, 1827; Conus senegalensis (Gulden, Moolenbeek & Goud, 2017); Cucullus aurelius Röding, 1798; Lautoconus (Lautoconus) stimpsonorum Cossignani & Allary, 2019; Lautoconus cacao (Ferrario, 1983); Lautoconus fernandi Petuch & Berschauer, 2018; Lautoconus gambiensis Petuch & Berschauer, 2018; Lautoconus lamarckii (Kiener, 1847); Lautoconus mercator (Linnaeus, 1758); Lautoconus orri (Ninomiya & da Motta, 1982); Lautoconus rikae Petuch & Berschauer, 2018 (original combination); Lautoconus senegalensis Gulden, Moolenbeek & Goud, 2017; Lautoconus stimpsonorum Cossignani & Allary, 2019 (original combination); Varioconus mercator (Linnaeus, 1758)· accepted, alternate representation;

Conus mercator, common name the trader cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.^[2]

Like all species within the genus Conus, these snails are predatory and venomous. They are capable of "stinging" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not at all.

Description

The size of the shell varies between 20 mm and 55 mm. The shell is yellowish or ash-gray, often faintly longitudinally lined with chestnut, with a broad band at the shoulder and a narrower one at the middle, of white closely reticulated with chestnut.^[3]