Asprella
Encyclopedia
Asprella is a proposed genus
of sea snail
s, marine
gastropod mollusks in the family
Conidae, the cone snails
and their allies. This genus currently (November 2011) is still treated by some experts as an "alternative representation" of this group of species.
When the "alternative representations" are not used, this group of species is instead still placed in the Linnaean
genus Conus
.
(WoRMS) list. Species within the genus Aspella 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
for all species in the family:
The following species were synonymized:
. 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 cone snails. This classification was based upon shell
morphology
, radular
differences, anatomy
, physiology
, cladistics
, with comparisons to molecular (DNA) studies. Published accounts of genera within the Conidae that include the genus Asprella 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 prefer to 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 World Register of Marine Species
, 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 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.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of sea snail
Sea snail
Sea snail is a common name for those snails that normally live in saltwater, marine gastropod molluscs....
s, marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
gastropod mollusks in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Conidae, the cone snails
Conus
Conus is a large genus of small to large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs, with the common names of cone snails, cone shells or cones. This genus is placed in the subfamily Coninae within the family Conidae. Geologically speaking, the genus is known from the Eocene to the Recent ...
and their allies. This genus currently (November 2011) is still treated by some experts as an "alternative representation" of this group of species.
When the "alternative representations" are not used, this group of species is instead still placed in the Linnaean
Linnaean taxonomy
Linnaean taxonomy can mean either of two related concepts:# the particular form of biological classification set up by Carl Linnaeus, as set forth in his Systema Naturæ and subsequent works...
genus Conus
Conus
Conus is a large genus of small to large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs, with the common names of cone snails, cone shells or cones. This genus is placed in the subfamily Coninae within the family Conidae. Geologically speaking, the genus is known from the Eocene to the Recent ...
.
Distinguishing characteristics
The Tucker & Tenorio 2009 taxonomy distinguishes Asprella from Conus in the following ways:- Genus Conus, sensu stricto, 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 periostracumPeriostracumThe periostracum is a thin organic coating or "skin" which is the outermost layer of the shell of many shelled animals, including mollusks and brachiopods. Among mollusks it is primarily seen in snails and clams, i.e. in bivalves and gastropods, but it is also found in cephalopods such as the...
and a small operculumOperculum (gastropod)The operculum, meaning little lid, is a corneous or calcareous anatomical structure which exists in many groups of sea snails and freshwater snails, and also in a few groups of land snails...
. The shoulder of the shell is usually nodulose and the protoconchProtoconchA protoconch is an embryonic or larval shell of some classes of molluscs, e.g., the initial chamber of an ammonite or the larval shell of a gastropod...
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.
- The basic shell shape is conical to elongated conical, has a deep anal notch on the shoulder, a smooth periostracum
- Radular tooth (not known for fossil species)
- The radulaRadulaThe radula is an anatomical structure that is used by molluscs for feeding, sometimes compared rather inaccurately to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food enters the esophagus...
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.
- The radula
- Geographical distribution:
- These species are found in the Indo-Pacific region.
- These species are found in the Indo-Pacific region.
- Feeding habits:
- These species eat other gastropods, including cones.
- Genus Asprella, Schaufuss, 1869
- Shell characters (living and fossil species)
- The protoconchProtoconchA protoconch is an embryonic or larval shell of some classes of molluscs, e.g., the initial chamber of an ammonite or the larval shell of a gastropod...
is multispiral, the body ornamentation reaches the shoulder of the shell or dissipates in the midbody region, and there are nodules on at least the early whorls. The shell has as a deep anal notch. The periostracumPeriostracumThe periostracum is a thin organic coating or "skin" which is the outermost layer of the shell of many shelled animals, including mollusks and brachiopods. Among mollusks it is primarily seen in snails and clams, i.e. in bivalves and gastropods, but it is also found in cephalopods such as the...
is smooth however in some species there are minute hairs, and the operculumOperculum (gastropod)The operculum, meaning little lid, is a corneous or calcareous anatomical structure which exists in many groups of sea snails and freshwater snails, and also in a few groups of land snails...
is small.
- The protoconch
- Radular tooth (not known for fossil species)
- The anterior section of the radula is approximately the same length as the posterior section but in some species one section may be longer than the other. The blade is long and extends between one-third and two-thirds the length of the anterior section of the radular toothRadulaThe radula is an anatomical structure that is used by molluscs for feeding, sometimes compared rather inaccurately to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food enters the esophagus...
. A basal spur is present, and the barb is short.
- The anterior section of the radula is approximately the same length as the posterior section but in some species one section may be longer than the other. The blade is long and extends between one-third and two-thirds the length of the anterior section of the radular tooth
- Geographical distribution:
- These species are found throughout the Indo-PacificIndo-PacificThe Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two in the general area of Indonesia...
region to and including AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
- These species are found throughout the Indo-Pacific
- Feeding habits:
- These species are vermivorousVermivore-Examples:*Shrews*Tuataras*Hedgehogs*Kiwis*Long-beaked Echidnas*Platypuses*Leeches of the genus Americobdella*Moles-Pests or not Pests?:...
(i.e. they prey on marine worms).
- These species are vermivorous
Species list
This list of species is based on the information in the World Register of Marine SpeciesWorld Register of Marine Species
The World Register of Marine Species is a database that hopes to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific specialists on each group of organism. These taxonomists control the quality of the...
(WoRMS) list. Species within the genus Aspella 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
Conus is a large genus of small to large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs, with the common names of cone snails, cone shells or cones. This genus is placed in the subfamily Coninae within the family Conidae. Geologically speaking, the genus is known from the Eocene to the Recent ...
for all species in the family:
- Asprella armadillo (Shikama, 1971) is equivalent to Conus armadilloConus armadilloConus armadillo 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or...
Shikama, 1971 - Asprella australis (Holten, 1802) is equivalent to Conus australisConus australisConus australis 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or...
Holten, 1802 - Asprella baeri (Röckel & Korn, 1992) is equivalent to Conus baeriConus baeriConus baeri 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not...
Röckel & Korn, 1992 - Asprella blanfordiana (Crosse, 1867) is equivalent to Conus blanfordianusConus blanfordianusConus blanfordianus 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...
Crosse, 1867 - Asprella broderipii (Reeve, 1844) is equivalent to Conus broderipiiConus broderipiiConus broderipii 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or...
Reeve, 1844 - Asprella bruuni (Powell, 1958) is equivalent to Conus bruuniConus bruuniConus bruuni is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.These snails are predatory and venomous. They are capable of "stinging" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not at all.-External links:*...
Powell, 1958 - Asprella ciderryi (da Motta, 1985) is equivalent to Conus ciderryiConus ciderryiConus ciderryi 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or...
da Motta, 1985 - Asprella colmani (Röckel & Korn, 1990) is equivalent to Conus colmaniConus colmaniConus colmani 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...
Röckel & Korn, 1990 - Asprella conspersa (Reeve, 1844) is equivalent to Conus conspersusConus conspersusConus conspersus 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or...
Reeve, 1844 - Asprella erythraeensis (Reeve, 1843) is equivalent to Conus erythraeensisConus erythraeensisConus erythraeensis 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully...
Reeve, 1843 - Asprella fijisulcata (Moolenbeek, Röckel & Bouchet, 2008) is equivalent to Conus fijisulcatusConus fijisulcatusConus fijisulcatus 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully...
Moolenbeek, Röckel & Bouchet, 2008 - Asprella flava (Röckel, 1985) is equivalent to Conus flavusConus flavusConus flavus 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not...
Röckel, 1985 - Asprella gigasulcata (Moolenbeek, Röckel & Bouchet, 2008) is equivalent to Conus gigasulcatusConus gigasulcatusConus gigasulcatus 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...
Moolenbeek, Röckel & Bouchet, 2008 - Asprella guidopoppei (Raybaudi Massilia, 2005) is equivalent to Conus guidopoppeiConus guidopoppeiConus guidopoppei 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or...
Raybaudi Massilia, 2005 - Asprella inscripta (Reeve, 1843) is equivalent to Conus inscriptusConus inscriptusConus inscriptus 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...
Reeve, 1843 - Asprella iodostoma (Reeve, 1843) is equivalent to Conus iodostomaConus iodostomaConus iodostoma, common name the violet-mouth cone, 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...
Reeve, 1843 - Asprella janus (Hwass in Bruguière, 1792) is equivalent to Conus janusConus janusConus janus 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not...
Hwass in Bruguière, 1792 - Asprella kiicumulus (Azuma, 1982) is equivalent to Conus kiicumulusConus kiicumulusConus kiicumulus 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or...
(Azuma, 1982) - Asprella kinoshitai (Kuroda, 1956) is equivalent to Conus kinoshitaiConus kinoshitaiConus kinoshitai, common name Kinoshita's cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.These snails are predatory and venomous...
(Kuroda, 1956) - Asprella kuroharai (Habe, 1965) is equivalent to Conus kuroharaiConus kuroharaiConus kuroharai 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or...
(Habe, 1965) - Asprella laterculata (G.B. Sowerby II, 1870) is equivalent to Conus laterculatusConus laterculatusConus laterculata is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.Like all species with the superfamily Conoidea, these snails are predatory and venomous...
G. B. Sowerby II, 1870 - Asprella lienardi (Bernardi & Crosse, 1861) is equivalent to Conus lienardi Bernardi & Crosse, 1861
- Asprella limpusi (Röckel & Korn, 1990) is equivalent to Conus limpusiConus limpusiConus limpusi 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not...
Röckel & Korn, 1990 - Asprella lyncea (G.B. Sowerby II, 1858) is equivalent to Conus lynceusConus lynceusConus lynceus, common name the lynceus cone, is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails, cone shells or cones.-Distribution:...
G. B. Sowerby II, 1858 - Asprella neptunus (Reeve, 1843) is equivalent to Conus neptunusConus neptunusConus neptunus, common name the Neptune cone, 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...
Reeve, 1843 - Asprella nigromaculata (Röckel & Moolenbeek, 1992) is equivalent to Conus nigromaculatusConus nigromaculatusConus nigromaculatus 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully...
Röckel & Moolenbeek, 1992 - Asprella ochroleuca (Gmelin, 1791) is equivalent to Conus ochroleucusConus ochroleucusConus ochroleucus, common name the prefect cone, 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...
Gmelin, 1791 - Asprella oishii Shikama, 1977 is equivalent to Conus oishiiConus oishiiConus oishii 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not...
(Shikama, 1977) - Asprella pergrandis (Iredale, 1937) is equivalent to Conus pergrandisConus pergrandisConus pergrandis 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or...
(Iredale, 1937) - Asprella petergabrieli (Lorenz, 2006) is equivalent to Conus petergabrieliConus petergabrieliConus petergabrieli 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully...
Lorenz, 2006 - Asprella pretiosa (G. Nevill & H. Nevill, 1874) is equivalent to Conus pretiosusConus pretiosusConus pretiosus 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or...
G. Nevill & H. Nevill, 1874 - Asprella prima (Röckel & Korn, 1990) is equivalent to Conus primusConus primusConus primus 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not...
Röckel & Korn, 1990 - Asprella pseudokimioi (da Motta & Martin, 1982) is equivalent to Conus pseudokimioiConus pseudokimioiConus pseudokimioi 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully...
da Motta & Martin, 1982 - Asprella quiquandoni (Lorenz & Martin, 2008) is equivalent to Conus quiquandoniConus quiquandoniConus quiquandoni 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or...
Lorenz & Barbier, 2008 - Asprella ranongana (da Motta, 1978) is equivalent to Conus ranonganusConus ranonganusConus ranonganus 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or...
da Motta, 1978 - Asprella richeri (Richard & Moolenbeek, 1988) is equivalent to Conus richeriConus richeriConus richeri 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not...
Richard & Moolenbeek, 1988 - Asprella spectrum (Linnaeus, 1758) is equivalent to Conus spectrumConus spectrumConus spectrum 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or...
Linnaeus, 1758 - Asprella sulcata (Hwass in Bruguière, 1792) is equivalent to Conus sulcatusConus sulcatusConus sulcatus 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or...
Hwass in Bruguière, 1792 - Asprella sulcocastanea (Kosuge, 1981) is equivalent to Conus sulcocastaneusConus sulcocastaneusConus sulcocastaneus 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully...
Kosuge, 1981 - Asprella tisii (T.C. Lan, 1978) is equivalent to Conus tisiiConus tisiiConus tisii 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not...
T.C. Lan, 1978 - Asprella traversiana (E.A. Smith, 1875) is equivalent to Conus traversianusConus traversianusConus traversianus is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies....
E. A. Smith, 1875 - Asprella wittigi (Walls, 1977) is equivalent to Conus wittigiConus wittigiConus wittigi 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not...
Walls, 1977
The following species were synonymized:
- Asprella alabasteroides Shikama, 1963 was accepted as Conus australisConus australisConus australis 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or...
Holten, 1802 - Asprella ichinoseana Kuroda, 1956 was accepted as Conus ichinoseanus(Kuroda, 1956)
- Asprella memiae Habe & Kosuge, 1970 was accepted as Conus memiaeConus memiaeConus memiae 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not...
(Habe & Kosuge, 1970) - Asprella prioris Kuroda, 1956 was accepted as Conus ichinoseanus (Kuroda, 1956)
- Asprella tannaensis Cotton, 1945 was accepted as Conus excelsusConus excelsusConus excelsus, common name the excelsior cone, is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails.-Shell description:...
G. B. Sowerby III, 1908 - Asprella teramachii Kuroda, 1956 was accepted as Conus teramachiiConus teramachiiConus teramachii 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or...
(Kuroda, 1956) - Asprella wakayamaensis Kuroda, 1956 was accepted as Conus wakayamaensisConus wakayamaensisConus wakayamaensis 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" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully...
(Kuroda, 1956)
Significance of "alternative representation"
Prior to 2009, all species within the family Conidae were placed in one genus ConusConus
Conus is a large genus of small to large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs, with the common names of cone snails, cone shells or cones. This genus is placed in the subfamily Coninae within the family Conidae. Geologically speaking, the genus is known from the Eocene to the Recent ...
. In 2009 however, J.K. Tucker and M.J. Tenorio proposed a classification system for the over 600 recognized species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
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
Gastropod shell
The gastropod shell is a shell which is part of the body of a gastropod or snail, one kind of mollusc. The gastropod shell is an external skeleton or exoskeleton, which serves not only for muscle attachment, but also for protection from predators and from mechanical damage...
morphology
Morphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....
, radular
Radula
The radula is an anatomical structure that is used by molluscs for feeding, sometimes compared rather inaccurately to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food enters the esophagus...
differences, anatomy
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
, physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
, cladistics
Cladistics
Cladistics is a method of classifying species of organisms into groups called clades, which consist of an ancestor organism and all its descendants . For example, birds, dinosaurs, crocodiles, and all descendants of their most recent common ancestor form a clade...
, with comparisons to molecular (DNA) studies. Published accounts of genera within the Conidae that include the genus Asprella include J.K. Tucker & M.J. Tenorio (2009), and Bouchet et al. (2011).
Testing in order to try to understand the molecular phylogeny
Molecular phylogeny
Molecular phylogenetics is the analysis of hereditary molecular differences, mainly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. The result of a molecular phylogenetic analysis is expressed in a phylogenetic tree...
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 Conus
Conus
Conus is a large genus of small to large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs, with the common names of cone snails, cone shells or cones. This genus is placed in the subfamily Coninae within the family Conidae. Geologically speaking, the genus is known from the Eocene to the Recent ...
within the single family Conidae: for example, according to the current November 2011 version of the World Register of Marine Species
World Register of Marine Species
The World Register of Marine Species is a database that hopes to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific specialists on each group of organism. These taxonomists control the quality of the...
, all species within the family Conidae are in the genus Conus
Conus
Conus is a large genus of small to large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs, with the common names of cone snails, cone shells or cones. This genus is placed in the subfamily Coninae within the family Conidae. Geologically speaking, the genus is known from the Eocene to the Recent ...
. 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
World Register of Marine Species
The World Register of Marine Species is a database that hopes to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific specialists on each group of organism. These taxonomists control the quality of the...
as "alternative representations." Debate within the scientific community regarding this issue continues, and additional molecular phylogeny
Molecular phylogeny
Molecular phylogenetics is the analysis of hereditary molecular differences, mainly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. The result of a molecular phylogenetic analysis is expressed in a phylogenetic tree...
studies are being carried out in an attempt to clarify the issue.
Further reading
- Kohn A. A. (1992). Chronological Taxonomy of Conus, 1758-1840". Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington and London.
- Monteiro A. (ed.) (2007). The Cone Collector 1: 1-28.
- Berschauer D. (2010). Technology and the Fall of the Mono-Generic Family The Cone Collector 15: pp. 51-54
- Puillandre N., Meyer C.P., Bouchet P., and Olivera B.M. (2011), Genetic divergence and geographical variation in the deep-water Conus orbignyi complex (Mollusca: Conoidea), Zoologica Scripta 40(4) 350-363.