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The newly described Conus
brianhayesi Korn, 2000 : picture of the living
animal
This is believed to be the first
known pulished photo of a living Conus brianhayesi. |
|
Introduction
The
Conus species of South Africa are a little studied group
of Molluscs. Some work has been done on taxonomy, describing a few
new species, but not much is known about their habitat,
distribution and ecology.
Description
Size ranges from about 18 to 22 mm. Colour is brown and cream,
varying from a unform brown/cream colour to light brown, with
darker brown blotches or spiral bands. The shell is very similar in
colouration to
Conus bairstowi Sowerby III, 1889
– but the size of
C. brianhayesi is much
smaller and the shell more slender. C. bairstowi tends to be have a
broader shoulder and to be a much heavier. As can be seen from the
accompanying photo, the animal of
C. brianhayesi is
pure white.
Range
C. brianhayesi is found in a very localized area, in
the northern Transkei region of South Africa.
They are a deep-water species , being dredged from about 70 to
100m deep.
They are only known from a very restricted area at present. The
range of
C. bairstowi is far to the south and ranges
from Jeffreys Bay to East London.
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