There was an error in the original 2011 assessment, in that Conus lobitensis Kaicher, 1977 was placed as a synonym, but this is not correct and that name has been removed.

This species is endemic to Angola and is only found along a restricted area of coast, less than 40 km in length, where the species is found in shallow water to a 2-m depth. In the last 10 years this species has declined; it was once an abundant species and is now scarcer. As a result of this cone snail's range being in proximity to the city of Luanda, there has been a large decline in the quality of its habitat over the last 10 years due to pollution from a variety of sources. Reports from the region suggest that the species has declined in abundance significantly in the last 10 years. In the northern part of the range the sand bars and mud flats where it was originally found have been destroyed in the last 10 years. Therefore, this species is reassessed as Endangered (EN B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii)) due to genuine changes in abundance and loss of habitat.

This species is endemic to Angola and only known between Cacuaco to the north of Luanda and Mussulo Bay (Monteiro et al. 2004), a distance of approximately 40 km. Most of the records come from two different areas within the known range (M.J. Tenorio pers. comm. 2023). Samples of C. aemulus gathered by fishermen and sold for the collector market are the main source of information on the depth range for this species, indicated as 1 to 2 m in dealers lists of shells for sale (Poppe and Poppe 2011). The species can be present in very shallow waters to 5 m depth (M. J. Tenorio pers. comm. 2023).

In the last 10 years there has been a decline in the population, as it was once an abundant species (M.J. Tenorio pers. comm. 2011) and is now more scarce (M.J. Tenorio pers. comm. 2023).

This species is vermivorous (feeds on worms) and typically is found at a depth range of 1–2 m (Monnier et al. 2018) on sand and rocks (Poppe and Poppe 2011, M.J. Tenorio pers. comm. 2011). It can be present in very shallow waters to 5 m depth (M.J. Tenorio pers. comm. 2023). Adult specimens of this species typically measure 20–60 mm in length (Monnier et al. 2018).

This species is endemic to Angola where it is restricted to 40 km of coastline. There is hardly any tourism in Angola at this moment and the species is only collected by a few specialist collectors; it is not collected by fishermen (M.J. Tenorio pers. comm. 2011). There has been a big decline in the quality of habitats in the last 10 years due to pollution from a variety of sources as a result of the proximity to the city of Luanda. Reports from the region suggest that the species has declined in abundance significantly in the last 10 years (M.J. Tenorio pers. comm. 2023). In the northern part of the range the sand bars and mud flats where it was originally found have been destroyed in the last 10 years (M. Tenorio pers. comm. 2023).

Previously this species was abundant, and hence its shell was much traded. However, there is currently no new material available, so it is traded only from historic sources (M.J. Tenorio pers. comm. 2023).

This species is still considered to be restricted in its range and has become scarce in the market due to accelerating threats from pollution. There are no known conservation measures currently in place for this species.