''Fusiconus'' is a subgenus of sea snails, marine gastropod

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

s in the genus ''Conasprella'',

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.Bouchet, P. (2015). Fusiconus da Motta, 1991. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=580186 on 2015-03-18 In the new classification of the family Conidae by Puillandre N., Duda T.F., Meyer C., Olivera B.M. & Bouchet P. (2015), ''Fusiconus'' has become a subgenus of ''Conasprella'': ''Conasprella (Fusiconus)'' Tucker & Tenorio, 2009 represented as ''

Conasprella ''Conasprella'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.Bouchet, P. (2015). Conasprella. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/ ...

'' Thiele, 1929 Puillandre N., Duda T.F., Meyer C., Olivera B.M. & Bouchet P. (2015). ''One, four or 100 genera? A new classification of the cone snails''. Journal of Molluscan Studies. 81: 1-23
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Distinguishing characteristics

The Tucker & Tenorio 2009 taxonomy distinguishes ''Fusiconus'' from ''Conus'' in the following ways:Tucker J.K. & Tenorio M.J. (2009), Systematic Classification of Recent and Fossil Conoidean Gastropods, ConchBooks, Hankenheim, Germany, 295 pp. * Genus ''Conus'' '' sensu stricto'' Linnaeus, 1758 :: Shell characters (living and fossil species) :::The basic shell shape is conical to elongated conical, has a deep anal notch on the shoulder, a smooth periostracum and a small operculum. The shoulder of the shell is usually nodulose and the protoconch is usually multispiral. Markings often include the presence of tents except for black or white color variants, with the absence of spiral lines of minute tents and textile bars. ::Radular tooth (not known for fossil species) :::The radula has an elongated anterior section with serrations and a large exposed terminating cusp, a non-obvious waist, blade is either small or absent and has a short barb, and lacks a basal spur. ::Geographical distribution :::These species are found in the Indo-Pacific region. ::Feeding habits :::These species eat other gastropods including

cones A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines conn ...

. * Subgenus ''Fusiconus'' da Motta, 1991 ::Shell characters (living and fossil species) :::The shell is fusiform in shape. The protoconch is paucispiral, the spire is scalariform. The anal notch is deep. The early and middle spire whorl are ornamented with a single cord. The body whorl is conspicuously ornamented with has evenly spaced cords or sulci that continue the entire length. The periostracum is smooth, and the operculum is small. ::Radular tooth (not known for fossil species) :::The anterior sections of the radular tooth is shorter than the posterior section, and the blade is short. The waist and corresponding waist fold are obvious. A basal spur is present, and the barb is short. A shaft fold is present. (Similar to '' Dalliconus'', however the species of ''Fusiconus'' do not have a posterior blade.) ::Geographical distribution :::These species are found in the Indo-Pacific region. ::Feeding habits :::These species are vermivorous (meaning that they prey on marine worms).

Species list

This list of species is based on the information in the

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific specialis ...

(

WoRMS Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had ...

) list. Species within the genus ''Fusiconus'' include: * ''Fusiconus dictator'' (Melvill, 1898) is equivalent to '' Conasprella dictator'' Melvill, 1898 * ''Fusiconus elegans'' (G.B. Sowerby III, 1895) is equivalent to '' Conasprella elegans'' G. B. Sowerby III, 1895 * ''Fusiconus hopwoodi'' (Tomlin, 1937) is equivalent to '' Conasprella hopwoodi'' Tomlin, 1937 * ''Fusiconus lentiginosus'' (Reeve, 1844) is equivalent to '' Conasprella lentiginosa'' Reeve, 1844 * ''Fusiconus lizarum'' (G. Raybaudi Massilia & da Motta, 1992) is equivalent to '' Conasprella lizarum'' (G. Raybaudi Massilia & da Motta, 1992) * ''Fusiconus longurionis'' (Kiener, 1850) is equivalent to '' Conasprella longurionis'' Kiener, 1850 * ''Fusiconus stocki'' (Coomans & Moolenbeek, 1990) is equivalent to '' Conasprella stocki'' Coomans & Moolenbeek, 1990

Significance of "alternative representation"

Prior to 2009, all

cone A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines con ...

species were placed within the family Conidae and were placed in one genus, '' Conus''. In 2009 however, J.K. Tucker and M.J. Tenorio proposed a classification system for the over 600 recognized

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

that were in the family. Their classification proposed 3 distinct families and 82 genera for the living species of cone snails, including the family Conilithidae. This classification was based upon

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...

, radular differences,

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

cladistics Cladistics (; ) is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups (" clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is typically shared derived cha ...

, with comparisons to molecular (DNA) studies. Published accounts of genera within the Conidae (or Conilithidae) that include the genus ''Fusiconus'' include J.K. Tucker & M.J. Tenorio (2009), and Bouchet et al. (2011). Testing in order to try to understand the

molecular phylogeny Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

of the Conidae was initially begun by Christopher Meyer and Alan Kohn, and is continuing, particularly with the advent of nuclear DNA testing in addition to mDNA testing. However, in 2011, some experts still use the traditional classification, where all species are placed in ''Conus'' within the single family Conidae: for example, according to the current November 2011 version of the

, all species within the family Conidae are in the genus ''Conus''. The binomial names of species in the 82 cone snail genera listed in Tucker & Tenorio 2009 are recognized by the

as "alternative representations." Debate within the scientific community regarding continues, and additional

studies are being carried out in an attempt to clarify the issue.Petuch & Drolshage (2011) ''Compendium of Florida Fossil Shells, Volume 1'' MDM Publications, Wellington, FL., 432 pp. All this has been superseded in 2015 by the new classification of the Conidae

References

External links

To World Register of Marine Species

Gastropods.com: ''Conidae'' setting forth the genera recognized therein.

Gastropods.com: ''Conilithidae'' setting forth the genera recognized therein.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q21442708 Conidae Gastropod subgenera

Distinguishing characteristics

Species list

Significance of "alternative representation"

References

Further reading

External links