• Source: Conasprella

Conasprella is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies. This genus was formerly (February 2015) treated by some experts as a member of the family Conilithidae and as an "alternative representation" of this group of species.




Distinguishing characteristics


The Tucker & Tenorio 2009 taxonomy distinguishes Conasprella 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 periostracum and a small operculum. The shoulder of the shell is usually nodulose and the protoconch 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 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 region.
Feeding habits
These species eat other gastropods including cones.
Genus Conasprella Thiele, 1929
Shell characters (living and fossil species)
The protoconch is multispiral with 2.5 whorls, the shell is conical in shape, the spire is elevated, the early whorls have nodules at the periphery. The body whorl has evenly spaced cords or sulci that reach the midbody to the shoulder, and the whorls may have cords on top. The anterior notch is absent and the anal notch is deep. The periostracum is smooth, and the operculum is small.
Radular tooth (not known for fossil species)
The blade is short and covers one-third of the anterior section of the radular tooth. The posterior blade is absent, a basal spur is present, and the barb is short. A shaft fold and interior posterior fold is present, however the shaft fold is difficult to detect.
Geographical distribution
These species are found throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
Feeding habits
These species are presumed to be vermivorous (meaning that they prey on marine worms) based upon their radular morphology.




Species list


This list of species is based on the information in the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) list. Species within the genus Conasprella include:
According to the 2014 taxonomy, the following species include the following subgenera: Boucheticonus, Coltroconus, Conasprella, Dalliconus, Endemoconus, Fusiconus, Kohniconus, Lilliconus, Parviconus, Pseudoconorbis, and Ximenoconus, as well as Conasprella delessertii (Récluz, 1843), a species "incertae sedes". These subgenera are accepted and are considered alternative representations.

The following species were brought into synonymy:

Conasprella albobrunnea Bozzetti, 2017: synonym of Conasprella eucoronata (G. B. Sowerby III, 1903)
Conasprella biraghii (G. Raybaudi Massilia, 1992): synonym of Lilliconus biraghii (G. Raybaudi Massilia, 1992)
Conasprella cancellata Hwass in Bruguière, 1792: synonym of Conus cancellatus Hwass in Bruguière, 1792
Conasprella guyanensis (Van Mol, 1973): synonym of Conasprella bajanensis (Nowell-Usticke, 1968)
Conasprella hivanus (Moolenbeek, Zandbergen & Bouchet, 2008): synonym of Conasprella hivana (Moolenbeek, Zandbergen & Bouchet, 2008) (wrong gender agreement of specific epithet)
Conasprella hypochlorus (Tomlin, 1937): synonym of Conasprella insculpta (Kiener, 1847)
Conasprella sagei (Korn & G. Raybaudi Massilia, 1993): synonym of Lilliconus sagei (Korn & G. Raybaudi Massilia, 1993)




List of synonyms of the genus Conasprella


Bathyconus Tucker & Tenorio, 2009
Boucheticonus Tucker & Tenorio, 2013
Coltroconus Petuch, 2013
Conasprella (Boucheticonus) Tucker & Tenorio, 2013 · accepted, alternate representation
Conasprella (Coltroconus) Petuch, 2013 · accepted, alternate representation
Conasprella (Conasprella) Thiele, 1929 · accepted, alternate representation
Conasprella (Dalliconus) Tucker & Tenorio, 2009 · accepted, alternate representation
Conasprella (Endemoconus) Iredale, 1931 · accepted, alternate representation
Conasprella (Fusiconus) da Motta, 1991 · accepted, alternate representation
Conasprella (Kohniconus) Tucker & Tenorio, 2009 · accepted, alternate representation
Conasprella (Lilliconus) G. Raybaudi Massilia, 1994 · accepted, alternate representation
Conasprella (Parviconus) Cotton & Godfrey, 1932 · accepted, alternate representation
Conasprella (Pseudoconorbis) Tucker & Tenorio, 2009 · accepted, alternate representation
Conasprella (Ximeniconus) Emerson & Old, 1962 · accepted, alternate representation
Conus (Conasprella) Thiele, 1929
Dalliconus Tucker & Tenorio, 2009
Duodenticonus Tucker & Tenorio, 2013
Endemoconus Iredale, 1931
Fumiconus da Motta, 1991
Fusiconus da Motta, 1991
Globiconus Tucker & Tenorio, 2009
Jaspidiconus Petuch, 2003
Kermasprella Powell, 1958
Kohniconus Tucker & Tenorio, 2009
Lilliconus G. Raybaudi Massilia, 1994
Mamiconus Cotton & Godfrey, 1932
Parviconus Cotton & Godfrey, 1932
Perplexiconus Tucker & Tenorio, 2009
Pseudoconorbis Tucker & Tenorio, 2009
Viminiconus Tucker & Tenorio, 2009
Ximeniconus Emerson & Old, 1962
Yeddoconus Tucker & Tenorio, 2009




Significance of "alternative representation"


Prior to 2009, all cone species were placed within the family Conidae and were placed in one genus, Conus. 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, including the family Conilithidae. 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 (or Conilithidae) that include the genus Conasprella 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 preferred to use the traditional classification, where all species are placed in Conus within the single family Conidae: for example, according to the 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.
All this has been superseded in 2015 by the new classification of the Conidae




References



Tucker J.K. & Tenorio M.J. (2013) Illustrated catalog of the living cone shells. 517 pp. Wellington, Florida: MdM Publishing.




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.




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.

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Conidae
• Conasprella
• Conasprella levenensis
• Conasprella somalica
• Conasprella icapui
• Conasprella booti
• Conasprella coromandelica
• Conasprella joanae
• Conasprella spirofilis
• Conasprella bajanensis