''Perplexiconus'' has become a synonym of Conasprella (Ximeniconus) Emerson & Old, 1962, 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

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.Bouchet, P. (2015). Perplexiconus Tucker & Tenorio, 2009. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=580589 on 2015-03-25 In the new classification of the family Conidae by Puillandre N., Duda T.F., Meyer C., Olivera B.M. & Bouchet P. (2015), ''Perplexiconus'' has become a subgenus of ''Conasprella'': ''Conasprella (Ximenoconus)'' 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/aphia ...

'' 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 ''Perplexiconus'' 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 ''Ximenoconus'' Emerson & Old, 1962 ::Shell characters (living and fossil species) :::The shell is cylindrical in shape with a conical spire and angulate shoulders. The

is either paucispiral or multispiral. The whorl tops do not have cords. Nodules are absent, however the shell may be ornamented with an undulating carina. The posterior notch is moderate to deep, and the anterior notch is well developed. The

is smooth, and the operculum is small. ::Radular tooth (not known for fossil species) :::The anterior section of the radular tooth is shorter than the posterior section, and there is no posterior blade. A posterior fold is present. There is a blunt shaft fold which is blunt at its anterior end. A basal spur is present, and the barb and blade are short. ::Geographical distribution :::The species in this genus occur in the West Atlantic and Eastern Pacific regions. ::Feeding habits :::These cone snails are vermivorous, meaning that they 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 ''Perplexiconus'' include: The following species names are recognized as "alternate representations" (see full explanation below) in contrast to the traditional system, which uses the genus ''

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 ...

'' for all species in the family: * ''Perplexiconus baccatus'' (G.B. Sowerby III, 1877) is equivalent to ''

Conus baccatus ''Conasprella baccata'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.Bouchet, P. (2015). Conasprella baccata (G. B. Sowerby III, 1877). In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed throug ...

'' G. B. Sowerby III, 1877 * ''Perplexiconus lucidus'' (W. Wood, 1828) is equivalent to '' Conus lucidus'' W. Wood, 1828 (alternate representation) * ''Perplexiconus perplexus'' (G.B. Sowerby II, 1857) is equivalent to '' Conasprella perplexa'' G. B. Sowerby II, 1857 * ''Perplexiconus puncticulatus'' (Hwass in Bruguière, 1792) is equivalent to '' Conus puncticulatus'' Hwass in Bruguière, 1792 (alternate representation) * ''Perplexiconus wendrosi'' Tenorio & Afonso, 2013 : synonym of '' Conasprella wendrosi'' (Tenorio & Afonso, 2013) (alternate representation)

Significance of "alternative representation"

Prior to 2009, all cone species were placed within the family

and were placed in one genus, ''

''. 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

, including the family Conilithidae. This classification was based upon shell

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, ...

r 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 its ...

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 char ...

, with comparisons to molecular (DNA) studies. Published accounts of genera within the Conidae (or Conilithidae) that include the genus ''Perplexiconus'' include J.K. Tucker & M.J. Tenorio (2009), and Bouchet et al. (2011). Testing in order to try to understand the molecular phylogeny 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 molecular phylogeny 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=Q7169577 Conidae Gastropod subgenera

Distinguishing characteristics

Species list

Significance of "alternative representation"

References

Further reading

External links