One, four or 100 genera? A new classification of the cone snails

Abstract

We present a new classification for the genus Conus sensu lato (family Conidae), based on molecular phylogenetic analyses of 329 species. This classification departs from both the traditional classification in only one genus and from a recently proposed shell- and radula-based classification scheme that separates members of this group into five families and 115 genera. Roughly 140 genus-group names are available for Recent cone snails. We propose to place all cone snails within a single family (Conidae) containing four genera—Conus, Conasprella, Profundiconus and Californiconus (with Conus alone encompassing about 85% of known species)—based on the clear separation of cone snails into four distinct and well-supported groups/lineages in molecular phylogenetic analyses. Within Conus and Conasprella, we recognize 57 and 11 subgenera, respectively, that represent well-supported subgroupings within these genera, which we interpret as evidence of intrageneric distinctiveness. We allocate the 803 Recent species of Conidae listed as valid in the World Register of Marine Species into these four genera and 71 subgenera, with an estimate of the confidence for placement of species in these taxonomic categories based on whether molecular or radula and/or shell data were used in these determinations. Our proposed classification effectively departs from previous schemes by (1) limiting the number of accepted genera, (2) retaining the majority of species within the genus Conus and (3) assigning members of these genera to species groups/subgenera to enable the effective communication of these groups, all of which we hope will encourage acceptance of this scheme.

Conus hughmorrisoni, a new species of cone snail from New Ireland, Papua New Guinea (Gastropoda: Conidae)

“…However, the species morphologically resembles two other cone snails: Conus exiguus and Conus hanshassi. The radula is known for one of them, Conus exiguus (Tucker & Tenorio 2009) Puillandre et al (2015). Although it remains to be confirmed by a molecular analysis, both the characters of the shell (for C. exiguus and C. hanshassi) and of the radular tooth (for C. exiguus) suggest that C. hughmorrisoni sp.…”

“…In this article we describe a new species of cone snail, Conus (Splinoconus) hughmorrisoni sp. nov. (following the classification of Puillandre et al 2015), discovered during the Kavieng Lagoon Biodiversity Survey ("KAVIENG 2014") in Papua New Guinea (June 2014), during which numerous new species have been discovered, some of them described already (Ahyong 2014). On the third day of diving, a little Conus Linnaeus, 1758 crawling across a piece of coral at 11 m was caught, and during the following weeks, several further specimens were collected.…”

Insights into the origins of fish hunting in venomous cone snails from studies of Conus tessulatus

“…The phylogenetic relationship of C. tessulatus to its congeners (10,(20)(21)(22)(23) is illustrated in Fig. 2.…”

“…It would seem a priori a very unlikely evolutionary outcome for a relatively slow moving snail, which is unable to swim, to successfully specialize in hunting fish as prey. Nevertheless, there appear to be more than 100 species of predatory gastropod molluscs belonging to the genus Conus (cone snails) that prey on teleost fish (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16).…”

Genus Profundiconus Kuroda, 1956 (Gastropoda, Conoidea): Morphological and molecular studies, with the description of five new species from the Solomon Islands and New Caledonia

“…In order to reconcile taxonomy and phylogeny, the family Conilithidae would need to be restricted to the fossil genus Conilithes (Rolán & Raybaudi-Massilia 1994) and Profundiconus if their morphological similarity is due to true synapomorphies, or alternatively Profundiconus would deserve its own family. The other living genera placed in Conilithidae by Tucker & Tenorio (2009) and Tucker & Tenorio (2013) would require placement in another suprageneric taxon, either family or subfamily, which would be sister group to the Conidae sensu Tucker & Tenorio (2013) (the so-called "Large Major Clade" of Duda & Kohn 2005, or the genus Conus sensu Puillandre et al 2015). However, these taxonomic changes would require confirmation and support by more detailed molecular studies using additional gene markers, which allow for higher resolution of the reconstructed trees.…”