''Lithoconus'' 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 ...

mollusks in the genus ''Conus'', family

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 ...

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), ''Lithoconus'' has become a subgenus of ''Conus'' as ''Conus (Lithoconus)'' Mörch, 1852 (type species:''Conus millepunctatus'' Lamarck, 1822) 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 ''Lithoconus'' 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 ''Lithoconus'' Mörch, 1852 ::Shell characters (living and fossil species) :::The shell is large, thick and obconic in shape, and the shoulders are subangular. The

is multispiral, and the whorl tops are usually concave in cross section and have just one or two cords. The shell is ornamented with nodules which are obsolete but present. The anal notch is shallow to moderately deep, depending upon the species. The color pattern includes spiral rows of brown, red or black markings, and the anterior end is usually colored black, red, blue or lavender. The

is smooth and very thick, and the operculum is large. ::Radular tooth (not known for fossil species) :::The anterior section of the radular tooth may be shorter or significantly longer than the length of posterior section, and the blade is long and covers most of the anterior section. A basal spur is present, and the barb is short. The radular tooth has several rows of coarse denticles. ::Geographical distribution :::The species in this genus occur in the occur in the

region. ::Feeding habits :::These cone snails are vermivorous, meaning that the cones prey on a variety of polychaete worms, including

enteropneust The acorn worms or Enteropneusta are a hemichordate class of invertebrates consisting of one order of the same name. The closest non-hemichordate relatives of the Enteropneusta are the echinoderms. There are 111 known species of acorn worm in the ...

, eunicid, capitellid, and nereid worms.

Species list

This list of species is based on the information in the World Register of Marine Species ( WoRMS) list. Species within the genus ''Lithoconus'' include: * ''Lithoconus caracteristicus'' (Fischer von Waldheim, 1807): synonym of '' Conus caracteristicus'' Fischer von Waldheim, 1807 * ''Lithoconus eburneus'' (Hwass in Bruguière, 1792): synonym of '' Conus eburneus'' Hwass in Bruguière, 1792 * ''Lithoconus edaphus'' (Dall, 1910) : synonym of '' Conus edaphus'' Dall, 1910 * ''Lithoconus leopardus'' (Röding, 1798): synonym of '' Conus leopardus'' (Röding, 1798) * ''Lithoconus peasei'' Brazier, 1877: synonym of ''

Conus flavidus ''Conus flavidus'', common name the flavid Pacific cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base ...

'' Lamarck, 1810 * ''Lithoconus sandwichensis'' (Walls, 1978): synonym of '' Conus sandwichensis'' Walls, 1978 * ''Lithoconus suturatus'' (Reeve, 1844): synonym of '' Conus suturatus'' Reeve, 1844 * ''Lithoconus tessulatus'' (Born, 1778): synonym of '' Conus tessulatus'' Born, 1778

References

External links

To World Register of Marine Species

Gastropods.com: ''Conidae'' setting forth the genera recognized therein.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6647993 Conidae Gastropod subgenera

Distinguishing characteristics

Species list

References

Further reading

External links