Common Name: Omaria Cone
Distribution: Uncommon in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Western and Central Pacific region. In Australia recorded from around Exmouth in Western Australia, across the tropical north, the Coral Sea and Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, south to northern New South Wales.
Ecological Notes: Inhabits rocky and coral reef, intertidal and subtidal depths, often hidden under boulders or coral slabs. Depth to 50 m.
Additional Notes: Shell background colour is white or pale, with dark, almost purple tent like mosaic triangles and patches. Low rounded spire, convex sides with aperture widening towards the tip, interior white. Potentially dangerous, this shell should not be handled. Similar Textile Cone, Conus textile, has moderately high pointed spire, pale tan rather than dark pattern. Preys on other molluscs, worms and small fish which it envenomates with a modified tooth or radula. One of the larger cone shells, grows to at least 80 mm.
References: Graham J. Edgar. Tropical Marine Life of Australia, 2019. New Holland Publishers Pty Ltd. p. 241.
Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=Conus+%28Darioconus%29+omaria. Accessed 23/09/2020.
Palomares, M.L.D. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. SeaLifeBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.sealifebase.org, version (06/2018). https://www.sealifebase.ca/summary/Conus-omaria.html Accessed 23/09/2020