''Harmoniconus'' is 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 family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies. In the new classification of the family Conidae by Puillandre N., Duda T.F., Meyer C., Olivera B.M. & Bouchet P. (2015), ''Harmoniconus'' has become a subgenus of ''Conus'': ''Conus (Harmoniconus)'' da Motta, 1991 (type species: ''Conus musicus'' Hwass in Bruguière, 1792) represented as ''

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 ...

'' 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 ''Harmoniconus'' 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 ''Harmoniconus'' da Motta, 1991 ::Shell characters (living and fossil species) :::The shell is turgid in shape with a low domed spire. The

is multispiral. The anal notch is shallow. The shell does not have an anterior notch. The shell is either smooth or ornamented with rows of pustules. The

is smooth, and the operculum is moderate to large. ::Radular tooth (not known for fossil species) :::The anterior section of the radular tooth is shorter than the length of the posterior section, and the blade is long and covers the length of the anterior section. A basal spur is present, the barb is short, and the posterior fold and/or terminating cusp are partially external. ::Geographical distribution :::The species in this genus occur in the

region, and one species (''H. nux'') occurs in the Eastern Pacific region. ::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 ...

Eunicidae Eunicidae is a family of marine polychaetes (bristle worms). The family comprises marine annelids distributed in diverse benthic habitats across Oceania, Europe, South America, North America, Asia and Africa. The Eunicid anatomy typically consi ...

and

Nereididae Nereididae (formerly spelled Nereidae) are a family of polychaete worms. It contains about 500 - mostly-marine - species grouped into 42 genera. They may be commonly called ragworms or clamworms. Characteristics The prostomium of Nereididae be ...

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. Species within the genus ''Harmoniconus'' include: 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: * ''Harmoniconus mcbridei'' (Lorenz, 2005): synonym of '' Conus mcbridei'' Lorenz, 2005 * ''Harmoniconus musicus'' (Hwass in Bruguière, 1792): synonym of ''

Conus musicus ''Conus musicus'', common name the music 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. They are capable of stinging humans, theref ...

'' Hwass in Bruguière, 1792 * ''Harmoniconus nanus'' (G.B. Sowerby I, 1833): synonym of ''

Conus nanus ''Conus nanus'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.Bouchet, P. (2015). Conus nanus G. B. Sowerby I, 1833. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of M ...

'' G.B. Sowerby I, 1833 * ''Harmoniconus nux'' (Broderip, 1833): synonym of '' Conus nux'' Broderip, 1833 * ''Harmoniconus parvatus'' (Walls, 1979): synonym of ''

Conus parvatus ''Conus parvatus'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the Conus, cone snails and their allies. Like all species within the genus ''Conus'', these snails are predatory and venomous. They are capable of s ...

'' Walls, 1979 * ''Harmoniconus paukstisi'' Tucker, Tenorio & Chaney, 2011:Tucker J.K., Tenorio M.J. & Chaney H.W. (2011) A revision of the status of several conoid taxa from the Hawaiian Islands: Description of Darioconus levieni n. sp., Pionoconus striatus oahuensis n. ssp. and Harmoniconus paukstisi n. sp. (Gastropoda, Conidae). In: Severns M., Shells of the Hawaiian Islands - The Sea Shells: 501-514. Conchbooks, Hackenheim. synonym of ''Conus (Harmoniconus) paukstisi'' (Tucker, Tenorio & Chaney, 2011) represented as ''

Conus paukstisi ''Conus paukstisi'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails, cone shells or cones.Bouchet, P. (2015). Conus paukstisi. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Spec ...

'' (Tucker, Tenorio & Chaney, 2011) * ''Harmoniconus sponsalis'' (Hwass in Bruguière, 1792): synonym of ''

Conus sponsalis ''Conus sponsalis'', common name the sponsal cone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the Conus, cone snails and their allies. Like all species within the genus ''Conus'', these snails are predatory and ...

'' Hwass in Bruguière, 1792

References

External links

Gastropods.com: ''Conidae'' setting forth the genera recognized therein.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5659331 Conidae Gastropod subgenera

Distinguishing characteristics

Species list

References

Further reading

External links