Description

• The gladiator cone (Conus gladiator) is a marine gastropod in the family Conidae. Its solid, cone-shaped shell has a relatively low, broad spire with small knobs along the shoulders of the whorls. The shell is typically chocolate-brown to tan, with one or two pale spiral bands and alternating light and dark markings. A thick, fibrous, dark-brown outer covering called the periostracum can give living specimens a rough, almost fuzzy appearance. Adults generally reach 26–48 mm in length. Like other cone snails, it possesses a venomous harpoon-like tooth and should not be handled alive.

Range

• This species occurs in the tropical and subtropical eastern Pacific, from the Gulf of California and western Mexico south along the coasts of Central America to Ecuador and Peru, and around the Galápagos Islands. It is present along the Pacific coast of Mexico, including Zihuatanejo, Guerrero.

Habitat

• The gladiator cone inhabits shallow coastal waters, from the intertidal zone to depths of approximately 20 m. It shelters beneath rocks and ledges on rocky shores and reefs, and also occurs on sandy seabeds near rocky areas, often among green algae.

Diet

• Conus gladiator is a predatory cone snail that feeds primarily on marine worms. It uses its venomous, harpoon-like radular tooth to immobilise prey before swallowing it. Although the feeding behaviour of this species is not extensively studied, its diet is consistent with the worm-hunting habits of related cone snails.