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Conus chaldaeus (Roding, 1798)

Description: Shell medium to heavy in weight. Body whorl convex above midbody, slightly concave towards base, with spiral ridging on lower three-quarters of whorl. Shoulder subangulate. Spire medium height, straight or convex in outline. Spire whorls with spiral grooves, usually eroded. Aperture narrow, columella smooth. Coloured with irregular axial black stripes with narrow white interspaces; complete or partial white spiral band at shoulder and midbody.

Size: Up to 41 mm in length.

Distribution: Indo-West Pacific. In eastern Australia, as far south as Sydney.

Habitat: Low intertidal and shallow subtidal, feeding on worms. Common in the tropics, decreasing in abundance to uncommon and then to rare at the end of range.

Fig. 1  Woolgoolga, NSW (C.078233)

 

Copyright Des Beechey 2004