Conus striolatus Kiener, 1845

Franklin, J. Benjamin, Subramanian, K. A., Fernando, S. Antony & Krishnan, K. S., 2009, 2250, Zootaxa 2250, pp. 1-63 : 45-46

50. Conus striolatus Kiener, 1845 (Figure 51)

Conus striolatus Kiener, 1845 : pl. 105, fig. 1 (type, Coll. Bernardi; locality unknown);.

Conus magus var. decurtata Dautzenberg, 1910: 26 (lectotype, IRSN (28.5 x 16.5 mm) Coomans et al. 1985b); "L alle de Rua-Sura (Archipel Salomon)").

Material examined: MBMCS150 , 2 specimens, SL 22–24 mm; SW 13–14 mm .

Description. Shell small, solid. Body whorl ventricosely conical. Shoulder rounded. Spire of moderate height, outline straight. Body whorl with spiral ribs at base. Basal spiral ribs on both sides finely granulated, conspicuously prominent on the ventral side.

Ground colour pale grey. Body whorl with brown axial blotches, fusing into interrupted spiral bands on each side of centre. Spiral rows of alternating brown to black and white dots and dashes extend from base to shoulder. Aperture white.

Distribution. Conus striolatus has not been previously reported from India.

The specimens described herein were collected from Cuddalore ( Table 6) by trawling in 10–40 m.

Remarks. The present report is the first record in India and this species is found to be a rare species along the TamilNadu Coast.