Conus inscriptus Reeve, 1843: pl. 29, no. 164 (three syntypes, BMNH (34.5 x 18; 32.5 x 17; 29 x 14.5 mm); locality unknown).

Conus kaetii Sowerby II, 1858: 34, no. 298, pl. 20, fig. 479 (two syntypes, BMNH (48.5 x 22 mm; 46 x 22 mm); " Seychelles ").

Conus planiliratus Sowerby III, 1870: 255, pl. 22, fig. 1 (type, BMNH (41 x 20 mm) (Röckel et al. 1995); locality unknown).

Conus tegulatus Sowerby III, 1870: 256, pl. 22, fig. 12 (holotype, BMNH (19 x 9 mm); " China Seas ").

Conus cuneiformis E.A. Smith, 1877: 202–204 (lectotype, BMNH (25 x 14 mm) (Coomans et al. 1985a); locality unknown).

Conus adenensis E. A. Smith, 1892: 401–402, pl. 33, fig. 1 (lectotype, BMNH (48 x 21.5 mm) (Coomans et al. 1979a); "Aden").

Conus maculospira Pilsbry, 1921: 329–330.

Conus cavailloni Fenaux, 1942: 4, fig. 12 (" Bermudes ").

Conus keatiformis Shikama, 1977: 19–20, pl. 4, figs. 1a, b, pl. 5, fig. 7 (holotype, KPM (46 x 24 mm) (Röckel et al. 1995); "East China Sea").

Conus maculospira bangladeshianus da Motta, 1985c: 6–7, pl. 1, figs. 5a, b, 6a, b (holotype, MHNG (43 x 23 mm) (Röckel et al. 1995); "off the coast of Bangladesh in the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean").

Material examined: MBMCS 129, 315 specimens, SL 23–68 mm; SW 11–33 mm.

Description. Shell medium to moderately large, light in weight with a low gloss or dull surface. Body whorl ventricosely conical to conical, outline convex posteriorly, usually straight below tapering to a very narrow and long base. Shoulder angulate to sub-angulate. Spire of low to moderate height; outline concave to straight, most frequently straight and sometimes with stepped whorls in smaller specimens. Body whorl with widely spaced, weak to pronounced spiral grooves separated by ribbons on basal third to two thirds; anteriorly, grooves are wide, often containing spiral threads or fine ribs.

Ground colour pale brown to dark brown, sometime rusty brown. Body whorl with spiral rows of orange to dark brown dots, spots, bars or axial streaks fusing into axial flames and blotches and forming interrupted spiral bands below shoulder and within adapical and abapical thirds. Sub-shoulder band usually less prominent than anterior bands. Aperture white. Periostracum brown, thin, translucent and smooth; sometimes thicker and coarse. Almost completely white shells of C. inscriptus from India were described as C. i. cuneiformis (Röckel et al. 1995).

Distribution. The earliest report of C. inscriptus (as ‘ C. planiliratus Sowerby’) was by Smith (1894) off Calicut. Melvill & Standen (1901) reported this species (also as ‘ C. planiliratus ’) from Bombay. Kohn (1978) reported museum specimens collected from Gujarat (at MCZ). Along the east coast, specimens are reported from Ratnagiri (at MCZ), Tranquebar (at ZMUC) and off Cape Comorin (at AMNH). Specimens were also obtained off Madras [as communicated by F. B. Steiner to Kohn (1978)]. Kohn (1978) obtained C. inscriptus specimens trawled off PortoNovo. All specimens in the above reports were collected at depths of 40– 100 m.

The specimens described herein were collected by trawling in 15–80 m at major fish landing centers of the TamilNadu Coast (Table 6). Particularly at Palayar and Cuddalore, enormous quantities (approximately more than half a tonne per week) of C. inscriptus were landed as by-catch from the fishing-boats that trawl for shrimp (Penaeus monodon Fabricius).

Remarks. We obtained albino specimens of C. i. cuneiformis from Vembar (Figure 62N). The large quantity of C. inscriptus around Palayar and Cuddalore suggest that this species prefers sandy-mud and muddy substrates. Conus loroisii and turrid species are always found associated with C. inscriptus.