Conus suratensis Hwass

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

51. Conus suratensis Hwass in Bruguière, 1792 (Figure 52)

Conus suratensis Hwass in Bruguière, 1792: 669–670, no. 63 (lectotype, MHNG (51.5 x 31.5 mm) ( Röckel et al. 1995); "mers des grandes Indes").

Material examined: MBMCS151 , 6 specimens, SL 75–92 mm; SW 38–43 mm .

Description. Shell large, heavy and glossy. Body whorl usually ventricosely conical, outline convex over the adapical third, straight below. Shoulder subangulate to rounded. Spire low or flat, early whorl forming a small cone at the middle. Body whorl with about a dozen fairly weak spiral ridges above base, rest of whorl smooth except for fine spiral and axial threads and scratches. Aperture moderately wide, with uniform width, outer lip thick, sharp and straight.

Ground colour white to cream. Base pale orange, base and shoulder stained bright orange and yellow in some. Spiral rows of small dark brown dashes over most of the whorl, also aligned into axial bands; little fusion occurs between dashes axially. Spire white with orange tones. Aperture pale brown in colour.

Distribution. Röckel et al. (1995) reported this species off Cuddalore.

The specimens reorted herein were collected from Mandapam ( Table 6) by trawling in 10–15 m, mainly on the sandy bottom.

Remarks. Conus suratensis is rare and probably restricted to the Gulf of Mannar. The present record of live specimens other than a single shell (70 mm) reported from Cuddalore ( Röckel et al. 1995) is the first report from Gulf of Mannar and the largest (92 mm) recorded.