''Bathyconus'' 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 ...

s, cone snails,

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 ...

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

s in the genus

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

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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.Bouchet, P. (2015). Bathyconus Tucker & Tenorio, 2009. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=580153 on 2015-03-18 In the new classification of the family Conidae by Puillandre N., Duda T.F., Meyer C., Olivera B.M. & Bouchet P. (2015), ''Bathyconus'' has become a subgenus of ''Conasprella'': ''Conasprella (Fusiconus)'' Tucker & Tenorio, 2009 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
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Distinguishing characteristics

The Tucker & Tenorio 2009 taxonomy distinguishes ''Bathyconus'' 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 ''Bathyconus'' Tucker & Tenorio, 2009 ::Shell characters (living and fossil species) :::The

is multispiral, the shell is elongated conical in shape, the spire is elevated, the shoulders have nodules at the periphery. A central cord bisects the early whorls, followed by two to three cords on the outer whorls, and the body whorl of the shell has numerous cords. The anal notch is deep. The

is smooth, and the operculum is small. ::Radular tooth (not known for fossil species) :::The anterior section of the

is much shorter than posterior section, and the waist is obvious. The blade and posterior blade covers the anterior section of the radular tooth. A basal spur is present, the barb and blade are short. The anterior end of the shaft fold is blunt. ::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

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, ...

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

(

WoRMS Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany, a city **Worms (electoral district) *Worms, Nebraska, U.S. *Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy Arts and entertainme ...

) list. Species within the genus ''Bathyconus'' include: * ''Bathyconus aculeiformis'' (Reeve, 1844): synonym of ''

Conasprella aculeiformis ''Conasprella aculeiformis'', common name the spindle cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.Bouchet, P. (2015). Conasprella aculeiformis. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Acce ...

'' Reeve, 1844 * ''Bathyconus comatosus'' (Pilsbry, 1904): synonym of '' Conasprella comatosa'' Pilsbry, 1904 * ''Bathyconus coriolisi'' (Röckel, Richard & Moolenbeek, 1995): synonym of '' Conasprella coriolisi'' (Röckel, Richard & Moolenbeek, 1995) * ''Bathyconus dieteri'' (Moolenbeek, Zandbergen & Bouchet, 2008): synonym of '' Conasprella dieteri'' Moolenbeek, Zandbergen & Bouchet, 2008 * ''Bathyconus elokismenos'' (Kilburn, 1975): synonym of '' Conasprella elokismenos'' (Kilburn, 1975) * ''Bathyconus fijiensis'' (Moolenbeek, Zandbergen & Bouchet, 2008): synonym of '' Conasprella fijiensis'' Moolenbeek, Röckel & Bouchet, 2008 * ''Bathyconus hypochlorus'' (Tomlin, 1937): synonym of '' Conasprella hypochlorus'' (Tomlin, 1937) * ''Bathyconus insculptus'' (Kiener, 1845): synonym of '' Conasprella insculpta'' Kiener, 1845 * ''Bathyconus joliveti'' (Moolenbeek, Zandbergen & Bouchet, 2008): synonym of '' Conasprella joliveti'' Moolenbeek, Röckel & Bouchet, 2008 * ''Bathyconus milesi'' (E.A. Smith, 1887): synonym of '' Conus milesi'' E. A. Smith, 1887 * ''Bathyconus orbignyi'' (Audouin, 1831): synonym of '' Conasprella orbignyi'' Audouin, 1831 * ''Bathyconus pepeiu'' (Moolenbeek, Zandbergen & Bouchet, 2008): synonym of '' Conasprella pepeiu'' (Moolenbeek, Zandbergen & Bouchet, 2008) * ''Bathyconus pseudorbignyi'' (Röckel & Lan, 1981): synonym of '' Conasprella pseudorbignyi'' Röckel & Lan, 1981 * ''Bathyconus saecularis'' (Melvill, 1898): synonym of '' Conasprella saecularis'' Melvill, 1898 * ''Bathyconus tiki'' (Moolenbeek, Zandbergen & Bouchet, 2008): synonym of '' Conasprella tiki'' (Moolenbeek, Zandbergen & Bouchet, 2008)

Significance of "alternative representation"

Prior to 2009, all cone species were placed within the family

and were placed in one genus, ''

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 ...

''. In 2009 however, J.K. Tucker and M.J. Tenorio proposed a classification system for the over 600 recognized

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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

, including the family

Conilithidae Conilithidae is a proposed taxonomic family of small to medium-sized sea snails, specifically cone snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea, the cone snails and their allies.Tucker J.K. & Tenorio M.J. (2009) Systematic clas ...

. This classification was based upon shell

r differences,

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the 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 science, having its ...

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

cladistics Cladistics (; ) is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups (" clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is typically shared derived char ...

, with comparisons to molecular (DNA) studies. Published accounts of genera within the

(or

) that include the genus ''Bathyconus'' 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

, 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 molecular phylogeny studies are being carried out in an attempt to clarify the issue.Petuch & Drolshage (2011) ''Compendium of Florida Fossil Shells, Volume 1'' MDM Publications, Wellington, FL., 432 pp. 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.Cone Shells - Knights of the Sea
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4869162 Conidae Gastropod subgenera

Distinguishing characteristics

Species list

Significance of "alternative representation"

References

Further reading

External links