''Gradiconus'' is a synonym of a

subgenus In biology, a subgenus ( 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 the ge ...

sea snail Sea snails are slow-moving marine (ocean), marine gastropod Mollusca, molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the Taxonomic classification, taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguishe ...

s, marine

gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...

s in the genus ''

Conus ''Conus'' is a genus of venomous and predatory cone snails.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2015). Conus Linnaeus, 1758. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&i ...

'', family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies. T In the new classification of the family Conidae by Puillandre N., Duda T.F., Meyer C., Olivera B.M. & Bouchet P. (2015), ''Gradiconus'' has become a subgenus of ''Conus'': ''Conus (Dauciconus)'' Cotton, 1945 (type species: ''Conus gradatus'' W. Wood, 1828) represented as ''

'' 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
/ref>

Distinguishing characteristics

The Tucker & Tenorio 2009 taxonomy distinguishes ''Gradiconus'' 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 c ...

'' 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 an ...

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 (; : radulae or radulas) is an anatomical structure used by mollusks 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 enters ...

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 In geometry, a cone is a three-dimensional figure that tapers smoothly from a flat base (typically a circle) to a point not contained in the base, called the ''apex'' or '' vertex''. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, ...

. * Subgenus ''Gradiconus'' da Motta, 1991 ::Shell characters (living and fossil species) :::The shell is turbinate in shape. The

is paucispiral, cords are either absent or disappear in the early postnuclear whorls. The anal notch is deep. The shell may be ornamented with hemispherical nodules undulating along the shoulder angle in the early postnuclear whorls, and ridges may persist or die out on the body whorl. The color pattern consists of dots or dashes in spiral lines and/or longitudinal markings. The

is tufted or has a fringe along the shoulder angle, and the operculum is small to minute. ::Radular tooth (not known for fossil species) :::The anterior section of the radular tooth is roughly equal to the length of the posterior section, and the blade is more than half the length of the anterior section. A basal spur is present, the barb is short, and there is an internal terminating cusp. The radular tooth is serrated. ::Geographical distribution :::The species in this genus occur in the West Atlantic and

Eastern Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

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

polychaete Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class of generally marine Annelid, annelid worms, common name, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called c ...

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 catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

(

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

) list. The following species names are recognized as "alternate representations" (see full explanation below) in contrast to the traditional system, which uses the genus ''

'' for all species in the family: * ''Gradiconus anabathrum'' (Crosse, 1865): synonym of '' Conus anabathrum'' Crosse, 1865 * ''Gradiconus aureopunctatus'' (Petuch, 1987) : synonym of '' Conus aureopunctatus'' Petuch, 1987 * ''Gradiconus bayeri'' (Petuch, 1987): synonym of '' Conus bayeri'' Petuch, 1987 * ''Gradiconus brunneofilaris'' (Petuch, 1990): synonym of '' Conus brunneofilaris'' Petuch, 1990 * ''Gradiconus burryae'' (Clench, 1942): synonym of '' Conus burryae'' Clench, 1942 * ''Gradiconus castaneus'' (Kiener, 1848): synonym of '' Conus castaneus'' Kiener, 1848 * ''Gradiconus ceruttii'' (Cargile, 1997): synonym of '' Conus ceruttii'' Cargile, 1997 * ''Gradiconus cingulatus'' (Lamarck, 1810): synonym of ''

Conus cingulatus ''Conus cingulatus'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.Bouchet, P. (2011). ''Conus cingulatus'' Lamarck, 1810. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at ht ...

'' Lamarck, 1810 * ''Gradiconus dispar'' (G.B. Sowerby I, 1833): synonym of '' Conus dispar'' G.B. Sowerby I, 1833 * ''Gradiconus ernesti'' (Petuch, 1990): synonym of '' Conus ernesti'' Petuch, 1990 * ''Gradiconus flamingo'' (Petuch, 1980): synonym of '' Conus flamingo'' Petuch, 1980 * ''Gradiconus flavescens'' (G.B. Sowerby I, 1834): synonym of '' Conus flavescens'' G.B. Sowerby I, 1834 * ''Gradiconus garciai'' (da Motta, 1982): synonym of ''

Conus garciai ''Conus garciai'' 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 stingin ...

'' da Motta, 1982 * ''Gradiconus gibsonsmithorum'' (Petuch, 1986): synonym of '' Conus gibsonsmithorum'' Petuch, 1986 * ''Gradiconus gradatus'' (Wood, 1828): synonym of ''

Conus gradatus ''Conus gradatus'', common name the graduated cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the Conus, cone snails, cone shells or cones.Bouchet, P. (2015). Conus gradatus. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed th ...

'' Wood, 1828 * ''Gradiconus honkerorum'' Petuch & R. F. Myers, 2014: synonym of '' Conus honkerorum'' (Petuch & R. F. Myers, 2014) * ''Gradiconus largilliertii'' (Kiener, 1847): synonym of '' Conus largilliertii'' Kiener, 1847 * ''Gradiconus maya'' Petuch & Sargent, 2011:Petuch E.J. & Sargent D.M. (2011) New species of Conidae and Conilithidae (Gastropoda) from the tropical Americas and Philippines. With notes on some poorly-known Floridian species. Visaya 3(3): 37-58. ugust 2011page(s): 42 synonym of '' Conus maya'' (Petuch & Sargent, 2011) * ''Gradiconus mazzolii'' Petuch & Sargent, 2011: synonym of '' Conus burryae'' Clench, 1942 * ''Gradiconus monilifer'' (Broderip, 1833): synonym of '' Conus monilifer'' Broderip, 1833 * ''Gradiconus nybakkeni'' Tenorio, Tucker & Chaney, 2012: synonym of '' Conus nybakkeni'' (Tenorio, Tucker & Chaney, 2012) * ''Gradiconus ostrinus'' Tucker & Tenorio, 2011: synonym of '' Conus ostrinus'' (Tucker & Tenorio, 2011) * ''Gradiconus parascalaris'' (Petuch, 1987): synonym of '' Conus parascalaris'' Petuch, 1987 * ''Gradiconus paschalli'' (Petuch, 1998): synonym of '' Conus paschalli'' Petuch, 1998 * ''Gradiconus patglicksteinae'' (Petuch, 1987): synonym of '' Conus patglicksteinae'' Petuch, 1987 * ''Gradiconus paulae'' (Petuch, 1988): synonym of '' Conus paulae'' Petuch, 1988 * ''Gradiconus philippii'' (Kiener, 1845): synonym of '' Conus philippii'' Kiener, 1845 * ''Gradiconus portobeloensis'' (Petuch, 1990): synonym of '' Conus portobeloensis'' Petuch, 1990 * ''Gradiconus recurvus'' (Broderip, 1833): synonym of '' Conus recurvus'' Broderip, 1833 * ''Gradiconus regularis'' (G.B. Sowerby I, 1833): synonym of '' Conus regularis'' G.B. Sowerby I, 1833 * ''Gradiconus rosemaryae'' (Petuch, 1990): synonym of '' Conus rosemaryae'' Petuch, 1990 * ''Gradiconus scalaris'' (Valenciennes, 1832): synonym of '' Conus scalaris'' Valenciennes, 1832 * ''Gradiconus scalarissimus'' (da Motta, 1988): synonym of '' Conus scalarissimus'' da Motta, 1988 * ''Gradiconus sennottorum'' (Rehder & Abbott, 1951): synonym of '' Conus sennottorum'' Rehder & Abbott, 1951 * ''Gradiconus skoglundae'' Tenorio, Tucker & Chaney, 2012: synonym of '' Conus skoglundae'' (Tenorio, Tucker & Chaney, 2012) * ''Gradiconus sunderlandi'' (Petuch, 1987): synonym of '' Conus sunderlandi'' Petuch, 1987 * ''Gradiconus tortuganus'' Petuch & Sargent, 2011: synonym of '' Conus burryae'' Clench, 1942 * ''Gradiconus tristensis'' (Petuch, 1987): synonym of '' Conus tristensis'' Petuch, 1987

Significance of "alternative representation"

Prior to 2009, all species within the family Conidae 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 A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

that were in the family. Their classification proposed 3 distinct families and 82 genera for the living species of cone snails. 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 Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

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 morphology concerned with the study of the internal 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 scien ...

physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

cladistics Cladistics ( ; from Ancient Greek 'branch') is an approach to Taxonomy (biology), biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups ("clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesiz ...

, with comparisons to molecular (DNA) studies. Published accounts of genera within the Conidae that include the genus ''Gradiconus'' 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 prefer to use the traditional classification, where all species are placed in ''

'' 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 ''

''. 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 this issue continues, and additional

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. In 2015, in the ''Journal of Molluscan Studies'', Puillandre, Duda, Meyer, Olivera & Bouchet presented a new classification for the old genus ''Conus''. Using 329 species, the authors carried out molecular phylogenetic analyses. The results suggested that the authors should place all cone snails in a single family, Conidae, containing four genera: ''Conus'', ''

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

'', ''

Profundiconus ''Profundiconus'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Conidae, the Conus, cone snails and their allies.Bouchet, P. (2011). ''Profundiconus'' Kuroda, 1956. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http:/ ...

'' and ''

Californiconus ''Californiconus'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks. The experts at WoRMS place this group of species in the family Conidae, the Conus, cone snails, but some other experts placed previously the genus in a proposed family (biol ...

''. The authors group 85% of all known cone snail species under ''Conus'', They recognize 57 subgenera within ''Conus'', and 11 subgenera within the genus ''Conasprella''.

References

External links

To World Register of Marine Species

Gastropods.com: ''Conidae'' setting forth the genera recognized therein.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5591896 Conidae Gastropod subgenera

Distinguishing characteristics

Species list

Significance of "alternative representation"

References

Further reading

External links