[1] Prior to 2009, it included all cone snail species but is now more precisely defined.

The thick shell of species in the genus Conus sensu stricto, is obconic, with the whorls enrolled upon themselves.

It is corneous, narrowly elongated, with an apical nucleus, and the impression of the muscular attachment varies from one-half to two-thirds of the inner surface.

[2] Species in the genus Conus sensu stricto can be found in the tropical and subtropical seas of the world, at depths ranging from the sublittoral (c. 200 m) to 1,000 m (656 to 3,280 ft).

The oldest known fossil of Conus is from the lower Eocene, about 55 million years ago.