''Conasprelloides'' 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 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 co ...

and their allies. In the new classification of the family Conidae by Puillandre N., Duda T.F., Meyer C., Olivera B.M. & Bouchet P. (2015), ''Conasprelloides'' has become a subgenus of ''Conus'': ''Conus (Dauciconus)'' Cotton, 1945 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 ''Conasprelloides'' 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 ''Conasprelloides'' Tucker & Tenorio, 2009 ::Shell characters (living and fossil species) :::The shell is turbinate to elongate conical in shape. The

is paucispiral, the body whorl has ridges, and the whorl tops have nodules that may persist on later whorls. The anal notch is deep. The color pattern is simple and without clear spiral lines. The

is tufted, and the operculum is small. Similar to ''

Gladioconus ''Gladioconus'' is a synonym of a subgenus of sea snails, marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusks in the genus ''Conus'', family (biology), family Conidae, the Conus, cone snails and their allies. T In the latest classification of the family ...

'', however the species in this genus do not retain nodules into their outer whorls, and do not have well developed darker brown markings on the whorl tops beyond the early whorls. ::Radular tooth (not known for fossil species) :::The anterior section of the

is usually shorter than posterior section. The blade is indistinct but long and covers most of the length of the anterior section of the radular tooth. A basal spur is present, and the barb is short. The radular tooth has serrations and the terminating cusp is internal. ::Geographical distribution :::These species are found in the West Atlantic.. ::Feeding habits :::These species are presumed to be vermivorous (meaning that they prey on marine worms) based upon the aspect of the radular tooth. Several published studies consider these species vermivores, discussing a unique conopressin in the venom chemistry, without providing details on their diet.

Species

This list of species is based on the information in the World Register of Marine Species ( WoRMS) list. Species within the subgenus ''Conasprelloides'' include: * ''Conasprelloides brunneobandatus'' (Petuch, 1992): synonym of '' Conus brunneobandatus'' Petuch, 1992 * ''Conasprelloides cancellatus'' (Hwass in Bruguière, 1792): synonym of '' Conus cancellatus'' Hwass in Bruguière, 1792 * ''Conasprelloides coltrorum'' Petuch & R. F. Myers, 2014: synonym of '' Conus coltrorum'' (Petuch & R. F. Myers, 2014) * ''Conasprelloides hazinorum'' Petuch & Myers, 2014: synonym of '' Conus hazinorum'' (Petuch & Myers, 2014) (alternate representation) * ''Conasprelloides kevani'' (Petuch, 1987): synonym of '' Conus kevani'' Petuch, 1987 * ''Conasprelloides kremerorum'' (Petuch, 1988): synonym of '' Conus kremerorum'' Petuch, 1988 * ''Conasprelloides leekremeri'' (Petuch, 1987): synonym of '' Conus leekremeri'' Petuch, 1987 * ''Conasprelloides levistimpsoni'' Tucker, 2013: synonym of '' Conus levistimpsoni'' (Tucker, 2013) * ''Conasprelloides penchaszadehi'' (Petuch, 1986): synonym of '' Conus penchaszadehi'' Petuch, 1986 * ''Conasprelloides stimpsoni'' (Dall, 1902): synonym of '' Conus stimpsoni'' Dall, 1902 * ''Conasprelloides venezuelanus'' (Petuch, 1987): synonym of '' Conus venezuelanus'' Petuch, 1987 * ''Conasprelloides villepinii'' (P. Fischer & Bernardi, 1857): synonym of '' Conus villepinii'' P. Fischer & Bernardi, 1857

Significance of "alternative representation"

Prior to 2009, all species within the family

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 that were in the family. Their classification proposed 3 distinct families and 82 genera for the living species of

. This classification was based upon shell morphology,

r differences, anatomy, physiology, cladistics, with comparisons to molecular (DNA) studies. Published accounts of genera within the

that include the genus ''Conaspelloides'' 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

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 prefer to use the traditional classification, where all species are placed in ''

'' within the single family

: for example, according to the current November 2011 version of the World Register of Marine Species, all species within the family Conidae are in the genus ''

''. The binomial names of species in the 82 cone snail genera listed in Tucker & Tenorio 2009 are recognized by the World Register of Marine Species as "alternative representations." Debate within the scientific community regarding this issue continues, and additional molecular phylogeny studies are being carried out in an attempt to clarify the issue.B. Vallejo, Jr. (2005), ''Inferring the mode of speciation in the Indo-West Pacific Conus (Gastropoda: Conidae)'', Journal of Biogeography 32:1429-1439. 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.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5158232 Conidae

Distinguishing characteristics

Species

Significance of "alternative representation"

References

Further reading

External links