Conus aureopunctatus
Conus aureopunctatus is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails, cone shells or cones. These snails are predatory and venomous. They are capable of stinging humans.
Description
Original description: "Shell small for genus, turnip-shaped, with wide body whorl and prominent constriction around anterior one-third, producing distinct anterior canal; shell shiny, polished; shoulder sharply carinated, with bladelike carina; spire elevated, scalariform; anterior third of shell ornamented with 10 thick, raised, spiral cords, each separated from others by deeply-incised sulci; base color of shell white; smooth portion of body whorl with 4 rows of pale yellow-orange dots; spiral cords on anterior end marked with yellow-orange dots; spire whorls smooth, with numerous crescent-shaped orange flammules; interior of aperture white; periostracum brown, thick, and smooth." The size of the shell attains 20 mm.Distribution
Locus typicus: Erroneously stated as "Gulf of Venezuela,off Punto Fijo, Falcon state, Venezuela"- but now corrected to Cabo Gracias a Dios
on the Honduran-Nicaraguan border
This marine species of cone snail occurs in the Caribbean Sea off Nicaragua and Venezuela.