About Conus purpurascens G.B.Sowerby I, 1833
This species, Conus purpurascens G.B.Sowerby I, 1833, has a shell size ranging between 33 mm and 80 mm. The shell is broad-shouldered, with a coarse, striate spire. The lower section of the shell is also striate, and the striae are sometimes slightly granular. The shell is clouded with combinations of white or violaceous, and brown or olive, marked with close lines of small alternating chestnut and white patches. Some individuals have an irregular white band across the middle of the shell. This attractive species has striking color variation, but the overall general shape and form of the shell remains quite consistent. The description of Conus purpurascens var. rejectus Dall, 1910 follows: this variety has nebulous brown coloring that is very pale, scattered in very small patches over a pale purple or bluish base shell color. The entire surface in front of the shoulder is covered rather densely with pale brown, thread-like, alternating-patterned spiral lines. The pale lateral band is still visible. This variety has a somewhat lower spire and a more angular shoulder than is typical for the species. The spire is decorated with a few radiating brown flame-shaped markings. The sutural fasciole is excavated, and is smooth, or marked with only one or two faint, worn spiral striae. This species occurs in the Central Pacific, off the Galapagos Islands, and in the Gulf of California, Mexico.
