''Lautoconus'' is a

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

sea snail Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

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 ''Conus'',

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

Conidae Conidae, with the current common name of "cone snails", is a taxonomic family (previously subfamily) of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Conoidea. The 2014 classification of the superfamily Conoidea, groups onl ...

, the

cone snails 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 co ...

and their allies. In the latest classification of the family Conidae by Puillandre N., Duda T.F., Meyer C., Olivera B.M. & Bouchet P. (2015), ''Lautoconus'' has become a subgenus of ''Conus'' as ''Conus (Lautoconus)'' Monterosato, 1923(type species: ''Conus mediterraneus'' Hwass in Bruguière, 1792) represented as ''

Conus ''Conus'' is a genus of predatory sea snails, or cone snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Conidae.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2015). Conus Linnaeus, 1758. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at ...

'' Linnaeus, 1758 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 ''Lautoconus'' 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 ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

'' 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 The periostracum ( ) is a thin, organic coating (or "skin") that is the outermost layer of the shell of many shelled animals, including molluscs and brachiopods. Among molluscs, it is primarily seen in snails and clams, i.e. in gastropods and ...

and a small operculum. The shoulder of the shell is usually nodulose and the

protoconch A protoconch (meaning first or earliest or original shell) is an embryonic or larval shell which occurs in some classes of molluscs, e.g., the initial chamber of an ammonite or the larval shell of a gastropod. In older texts it is also called ...

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 The radula (, ; plural radulae or radulas) is an anatomical structure used by molluscs for feeding, sometimes compared to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food ...

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 The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

region. ::Feeding habits :::These species eat other

s including cones. * Subgenus ''Lautoconus'' Monterosato, 1923 ::Shell characters (living and fossil species) :::The shell is turgid in shape with convex sides. The

is paucispiral. The whorl tops are ornamented with cords that reach the middle spire whorls and often persist. The anal notch is shallow to moderate in depth. The

is smooth and thin, and the operculum is of moderate size. ::Radular tooth (not known for fossil species) :::The anterior section of the radular tooth is equal to shorter than the posterior section, and blade is long and covers most of the anterior section. A basal spur is present, and the barb is short. The radular tooth has serrations in one or two rows. ::Geographical distribution :::The species in this genus occur in the occur in the

West African West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Ma ...

and

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

regions.. ::Feeding habits :::These cone snails are vermivorous, meaning that the cones prey on polychaete 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 specialist ...

(

WoRMS Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany, a city **Worms (electoral district) *Worms, Nebraska, U.S. *Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy Arts and entertainme ...

) list. Species within the genus ''Lautoconus'' include: * ''Lautoconus aemulus'' Reeve, 1844: synonym of ''Conus (Lautoconus) aemulus'' Reeve, 1844, represented as '' Conus aemulus'' Reeve, 1844 * ''Lautoconus africanus'' Kiener, 1848: synonym of ''Conus (Lautoconus) africanus'' Kiener, 1848, represented as '' Conus africanus'' Kiener, 1848 * ''Lautoconus albuquerquei'' Trovão, 1978: synonym of ''Conus (Lautoconus) albuquerquei'' Trovão, 1978, represented as '' Conus albuquerquei'' Trovão, 1978 * ''Lautoconus alexandrinus'' Kaicher, 1977: synonym of ''Conus (Lautoconus) alexandrinus'' Kaicher, 1977, represented as '' Conus alexandrinus'' Kaicher, 1977 * ''Lautoconus belairensis'' (Pin & Leung Tack in Pin, 1989) : synonym of '' Conus belairensis'' Pin & Leung Tack in Pin, 1989 * ''Lautoconus bruguieri'' (Kiener, 1848) : synonym of '' Conus bruguieri'' Kiener, 1848 * ''Lautoconus cacao'' (Ferrario, 1983) : synonym of '' Conus cacao'' Ferrario, 1983 * ''Lautoconus cloveri'' (Walls, 1978) : synonym of '' Conus cloveri'' Walls, 1978 * ''Lautoconus desidiosus'' (A. Adams, 1853): synonym of '' Conus desidiosus'' A. Adams, 1853 * ''Lautoconus dorotheae'' (Monnier & Limpalaër, 2010): synonym of ''Conus (Lautoconus) dorotheae'' Monnier & Limpalaër, 2010 represented as '' Conus dorotheae'' Monnier & Limpalaër, 2010 * ''Lautoconus echinophilus'' (Petuch, 1975) : synonym of '' Conus echinophilus'' (Petuch, 1975) * ''Lautoconus guanche'' (Lauer, 1993) : synonym of ''

Conus guanche ''Conus guanche'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies. Like all species within the genus ''Conus'', these snails are predatory and venomous. They are capable of "stinging ...

'' Lauer, 1993 * ''Lautoconus guinaicus'' (Hwass in Bruguière, 1792) : synonym of '' Conus guinaicus'' Hwass in Bruguière, 1792 * ''Lautoconus hybridus'' (Kiener, 1845) : synonym of '' Conus hybridus'' Kiener, 1845 * ''Lautoconus mediterraneus'' (Hwass in Bruguière, 1792): synonym of ''

Conus ventricosus ''Conus ventricosus'', common name the Mediterranean cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies. * '' Conus ventricosus mediterraneus'' Hwass in Bruguière, 1792, is a rec ...

'' Gmelin, 1791 * ''Lautoconus mercator'' (Linnaeus, 1758) : synonym of '' Conus mercator'' Linnaeus, 1758 * ''Lautoconus pineaui'' (Pin & Leung Tack, 1989) : synonym of '' Conus pineaui'' Pin & Leung Tack, 1989 * ''Lautoconus tacomae'' (Boyer & Pelorce, 2009) : synonym of '' Conus tacomae'' Boyer & Pelorce, 2009 * ''Lautoconus taslei'' (Kiener, 1850) : synonym of '' Conus taslei'' Kiener, 1850 * ''Lautoconus trencarti'' (Nolf & Verstraeten, 2008) : synonym of '' Conus trencarti'' Nolf & Verstraeten, 2008 * ''Lautoconus unifasciatus'' (Kiener, 1850) : synonym of '' Conus unifasciatus'' Kiener, 1850 * ''Lautoconus vayssierei'' (Pallary, 1906) : synonym of '' Conus vayssierei'' Pallary, 1906 * ''Lautoconus ventricosus'' (Gmelin, 1791) : synonym of ''

'' Gmelin, 1791

References

External links

To World Register of Marine Species

Gastropods.com: ''Conidae'' setting forth the genera recognized therein.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6502093 Conidae Gastropod subgenera

Distinguishing characteristics

Species list

References

Further reading

External links