Conus caracteristicus Fischer Von Waldheim, 1807

Franklin, J. Benjamin, Subramanian, K. A., Fernando, S. Antony & Krishnan, K. S., 2009, 2250, Zootaxa 2250, pp. 1-63 : 25

15. Conus caracteristicus Fischer Von Waldheim, 1807 (Figure 16)

Conus caracteristicus Fischer Von Waldheim, 1807: 139 , no. 113–116 (representation of lectotype, Chemnitz 1795: pl. 182, fig. 1761 (40 x 27 mm) ( Kohn 1981); " Java Sea").

Conus muscosus Lamarck, 1810: 281 , no. 105 (holotype, MNHN (44 x 27 mm) ( Röckel et al. 1995); locality unknown).

Conus characteristicus Dillwyn, 1817: 367 , no. 26 (holotype, same as lectotype of C. caracteristicus Fischer Von Waldheim ( Röckel et al. 1995); the coast of the Island of St. Bartholomew").

Conus masoni Nevill & Nevill, 1874: 22 , pl. 1 (holotype, BMNH (25 x 14.5 mm) ( Röckel et al. 1995); "Andaman Islands").

Conus brevis E. A. Smith, 1877: 222–223 (Holotype, BMNH (18.5 x 11 mm) ( Röckel et al. 1995); locality unknown).

Material examined: MBMCS 115 , 48 specimens, SL 36–68 mm; SW 16–36 mm .

Description. Shell heavy, glossy, sides straight. Body whorl conical to broadly conical, outline convex below shoulder, straight towards base. Shoulder angulate to rounded. Spire nearly flat; seldom slightly elevated, early whorls form a small bluntly pointed cone. Body whorl with strong spiral ridges anteriorly, separated by wide grooves. Aperture moderately wide, uniform in width, slightly flaring anteriorly; outer lip fairly thin.

Ground colour glossy white or cream with three irregular spiral bands of broad, reddish brown blotches widely inter-spaced below shoulder and on both sides of centre. Shoulder with alternating reddish-brown and white blotches, the same pattern continued on to spire, tip of spire white. Aperture deep yellow. Periostracum yellowish brown, thin, translucent. Siphon with black band on white or pale brown ground colour.

Distribution. This species has been reported off the Andaman Islands as well as off the coast of Madras ( Röckel et al. 1995).

The specimens described herein were collected from Pondicherry to Nagapattinam ( Table 6) by trawling in 10–15 m.

Remarks. Röckel et al. (1995) stated that C. caracteristicus inhabits sub-tidal to 30 m depths. Subsequently, Kohn (2001) reported this species inhabiting intertidal and shallow sub-tidal regions. We observed this species on sandy bottoms at depths of 10– 15 m. One specimen collected off Periyakuppam is the largest (66 mm) in shell length recorded from the Indian coast.