California Cone Snail

Description:

Conus californicus, also known as Californiconus californicus, common name the California cone, is a species of small, predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails. As both the Latin name and common name suggest, this cone is found primarily in California.

Habitat:

This small cone snail is unusual because most species in the family are tropical, whereas this species lives in the cooler waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean, including most of the coast of California. The range of this species is from the Farallon Islands near San Francisco to Bahia Magdalena, in Baja California, Mexico. This cone is found in both rocky and sandy areas, in the intertidal zone and subtidally down to 30 meters depth.