Conus araneosus

Franklin, J. Benjamin, Subramanian, K. A., Fernando, S. Antony & Krishnan, K. S., 2009, 2250, Zootaxa 2250, pp. 1-63 : 18-19

5. Conus araneosus [Lightfoot], 1786 (Figure 6)

Conus araneosus [Lightfoot], 1786: 106, no. 2328 (representation of lectotype, Martini 1773: pl. 61, fig. 676 (64 x 39 mm) ( Kohn 1964); " China, Coromandel").

Conus arachanoides Gmelin, 1791: 3388 , no. 34 (representation of lectotype, Knorr 1772: pl. 4, fig. 4 (49 x 27 mm) ( Kohn 1966); locality unknown).

Conus nicobaricus Hwass in Bruguière, 1792: 612, no. 7 (representation of lectotype, Cuvier 1798: pl. 318, fig. 9 (63 x 36 mm); "des grandes Indes").

Conus araneosus Hwass in Bruguière, 1792: 612–613, no. 8 (lectotype, MHNG (94 x 55 mm) ( Kohn 1968); "isles Moluques ").

Conus reticulatus Perry, 1811 : pl. 24, no. 2 (representation of holotype, Perry 1811: pl. 24, no. 2 (61 x 37 mm); locality unknown).

Conus monstrosus “Chemnitz ” Küster, 1838: 77, pl. 12, figs. 5, 6 (representation of holotype, Küster 1838: pl. 12, fig. 6 (50 x 32 mm); "Indischer Ozean").

Conus peplum Sowerby II, 1857: 3 , no. 11 (" Red Sea ").

Material examined: MBMCS 105 , 122 specimens, SL 24–105 mm; SW 15–63 mm .

Description. Shell moderately large, solid to heavy with a high gloss. Body whorl conical. Shoulder broad, faintly canaliculated, angulate, weakly to strongly tuberculate. Outline straight to slightly convex. Spire of low to moderate height; outline straight. Spiral whorls strongly tuberculate. Body whorl with weak spiral ribs above base. Aperture moderately wide; outer lip thick, sharp, straight.

Ground colour white, entire shell tinged with violet. Body whorl with fine network of dark brown reddish brown lines outlining small white tents, with two dark brown or black spiral bands on each side of the centre. Spire low. Aperture white to pale violet, interior deep yellow.

Distribution. Conus araneosus was reported from the Coromandel Coast ([Lightfoot] 1786). Mawe (1823) recorded it from Tranquebar (as ‘ C. arachanoideus ’). Subsequent records were made from Pamban ( Satyamurti 1952; Sundaram 1969), Pamban, Mandapam and Vedhalai ( Natarajan 1957) and Mandapam and Tuticorin ( Kohn 1978). Museum specimens (in ANSP) from Hare Island were reported by Kohn (1978).

The specimens described herein were collected from Gulf of Mannar ( Table 6) by trawling in 10–30 m and diving in 5–10 m on limestone and sandy substrates .

Remarks. In this survey, we have not observed any specimens of C. araneosus from the Northern and Palk Bay regions. Thus, the northward extension of this species from Gulf of Mannar remains to be verified. The high abundance of this species compared to other gastropods at Oolakuda, Rameswaram, has earned a name ‘Oolakuda vallapoo’ (also see Vallapoo in Introduction) by the local fishermen. Three albino specimens were collected from Tuticorin and their characteristic radular teeth confirmed identification. This species is usually heavily infested with the sessile barnacle Balanus amaryllis Darwin (Figure 62H). One malformed specimen was collected from Vellapatti (Figure 62I) with elevated stepped spire, running one-fourth of the total shell length (102 mm).