Conus moreleti Crosse, 1858
Moreleti cone, 45mm
Conus
moreleti is relatively common under rocks or exposed on hard substrates
on both lagoon and seaward reefs. Living in exposed habitat in rocky areas usually
causes the shell to become encrusted with calcareous algae and other growths,
making it hard to recognize. The shell is colored much like Conus
lividus and has a coronate spire, but it is considerably narrower in
shape. The red animal color is another differentiating feature.
We are putting this one with Conus
moreleti due to the red animal and relatively narrow shell, but the shell
color is unusual for the species.
The shell below shows severe damage
to the shell where the lip (or outer edge) had broken back and later regrown.
Created
4 July 2009
Updated 1 April 2022
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