2001 Articles |
Conus
regius &
Conus dominicanus feedings habits |
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Last
update : February 28th 2005
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Written
by M. Touitou David
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This
is a sum-up of old articles from 2001
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I had the chance to observe many Conus regius Gmelin, 1791 & Conus dominicanus Hwass, 1792 in my aquarium and manage to find out what this shells feed on. Conus regius and Conus dominicanus (Grenadines Islands) are both worm killers. They both feed on the carribean "fire worm" Hermodice carunculata (picture below). The worms have usually three different colors : gree, orange or red. This could partially explain the many variations in color of Conus regius.
They
all have same strategy. They are during day time much less active than
during night time but they can hunt, catch and feed during day time. Usually
the shells are partially burrowed or just laying in the sand. I could observe several shells trying to eat the same worm. But I never noticed a Conus feeding on a dead worm or a part of a dead worm. They really need to feed on live worms. Here
are some pictures showing how they hunt, stun and feed : |
Here
we are, a fire worm passing by a ready to hunt Conus regius :
The worm have been hit :
The specimen next to our hunter seems kind of "afraid" to see the other one extending is lethal weapon :
This time for Conus dominicanus had to move toward his victim and gave a shot :
Here are some pictures showing cone shells while feeding :
Incredible : Conus dominicanus and Conus regius f. citrinus feeding on the same worm...
Some
more pictures of these shells :
2001 Articles |