Range: S. Japan and Ryu Kyu Is.

Description: Moderately small to medium-sized, moderately solid. Last whorl conical to ventricosely conical; outline slightly to moderately convex below shoulder, straight towards base; left side slightly concave above base. Shoulder subangulate to angulate, smooth to weakly tuberculate. Spire low, outline variably concave. Larval shell of about 2 whorls, maximum diameter 0.8-0.9 mm. First 3-8.5 postnuclear whorls tuberculate, often somewhat stepped. Teleoconch sutural ramps flat, with 0 or 1 increasing to 4-5 spiral grooves. Last whorl with variably to regularly spaced, punctate or axially striate spiral grooves, weaker on adapical half and separated by ribbons and ribs.

Ground colour white, sometimes tinged with violet. Last whorl with a variably wide yellowish brown to orange spiral band on each side of centre; adapical band consistently wider; both bands blend with adjacent ground colour zones. Most shells with axial, partially coalescing, violet or reddish brown clouds on last whorl. In subadults, spiral rows of alternating brown and white dots and bars on surface elevations. Larval shell white. Teleoconch spire immaculate or with brown markings. Aperture white.

Radular teeth relatively narrow, with an adapical barb opposite a blade; serration of 16-18 denticles extends from the posterior tip of the barb nearly to the centre of the shaft; base pronounced, with a distinct spur (Rolán, pers. comm., 1991).

Habitat and Habits: In 40-100 m.

Discussion: Röckel (1991) noted a striking similarity between specimens of C. kiicumulus that lack the axial violet or reddish brown clouds on the last whorl and C. kashiwajimensis, as described by Shikama and illustrated by Walls [1979]. However, that species is known only from the holotype, whose whereabouts are unknown. C. kiicumulus also resembles C. suturatus. Both subspecies of C. suturatus can be distinguished by the third spiral colour band below the shoulder, the spiral rows of squarish spots (instead of axial clouds) on the last whorl, and by the more pronounced spiral sculpture on the sutural ramps.

C. kiicumulus Range Map

This section contains verbatim reproductions of the accounts of 316 species of Conus from the Indo-Pacific region, from Manual of the Living Conidae, by Röckel, Korn and Kohn (1995). They are reproduced with the kind permission of the present publisher, Conchbooks.

All plates and figures referred to in the text are also in Röckel, Korn & Kohn, 1995. Manual of the Living Conidae Vol. 1: Indo-Pacific Region.

The range maps have been modified so that each species account has it own map, rather than one map that showed the ranges of several species in the original work. This was necessary because each species account is on a separate page on the website and not confined to the order of accounts in the book.