About Conus ventricosus Gmelin, 1791
The shell of Conus ventricosus Gmelin, 1791 ranges in size from 13 mm to 63 mm. The shell can be yellowish brown, pink-brown, or olivaceous. Some individuals have a chocolate-brown shell marked by very close, cloudy spots and reticulation. Other individuals have interrupted chestnut-colored lines, along with a narrow, light-colored band positioned below the middle of the shell. The spire is elevated, roughly gradate, and spotted. The interior of the aperture is light chocolate, with a light band. The peptide Contryphan-Vn has been extracted from the venom of this marine snail. This peptide is one component of the complex mixture of poisonous compounds that the cone snail secretes to hunt worms. This marine species has a wide distribution within shallow waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Fossils of the species have also been found from the Pliocene and Miocene epochs.
