Puzzled Cone Shell, Conasprella perplexa

Puzzled Cone Shell, Conasprella perplexa. Shell collected off the beach at Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, May 2022. Size: 3.0 cm (1.2 inches) x 1.9 cm (0.7 inches). Collection, photographs and identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur.

Phylogeny: The Puzzled Cone Shell, Conasprella perplexa (G. B. Sowerby II, 1857) is a gastropod mollusk that is a member of the Conidae Family of Cones. The genus Conasprella is one of eight genera in this family, and there are one hundred seventy-six species in this genus. They are known as Cono Perplejo in Mexico.

Description: Puzzled Cone Shells are medium sized, solid cones. They have a moderately high spire. The exterior may be white, light gray, pinkish, or pale violet in color, with variable spiral rows of brown dots and dashes. Some may be marked with bands, stripes or blotches. Inside the aperture is pale violet.  The shell is covered with a thin, light-colored periostracum. Puzzled Cone Shells reach a maximum of, at least, 3.1 cm (1.2 inches) in length, with some sources extending the maximum length to 4.0 cm (1.5 inches) . The similar looking Ximenes Cone, Conasprella ximenes, is narrower, usually has a higher, more sharply pointed apex, and has a row of dots above and below the suture.

Habitat and Distribution: Puzzled Cone Shells are found on sand and rock substrates from the intertidal zone to depths of 37 m (121 feet). They are a subtropical to tropical Eastern Pacific species. In Mexican waters  Puzzled Cone Shells are found from San Juanico, Baja California Sur, throughout the Gulf of California, and south along the coast of the mainland to Guatemala.

Ecology and Behavior: Puzzled Cone Shells are predators that feed primarily on polychaete worms. They are gonochoric and reproduce sexually,  with internal fertilization.  There is no mention in the available literature of them engaging in any types of parasitic, commensal, or symbiotic relationships. Puzzled Cone Shells are venomous (conotoxin) and are capable of stinging humans.  They should be handled with great care, if at all. From a conservation perspective the IUCN Red List considers them to be of Least Concern.

Synonyms: Conasprella (Ximeniconus) perplexa, Conus perplexus, Perplexiconus perplexus and Ximeniconus perplexus.