Globiconus

Globiconus is a subgenus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the genus Conasprella, family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.^[1]

Globiconus
Apertural and abapertural views of shell of Conus tornatus Sowerby, G.B. I, 1833
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Neogastropoda
Superfamily:	Conoidea
Family:	Conidae
Genus:	Conasprella
Subgenus:	Globiconus Tucker & Tenorio, 2009
Synonyms
Conasprella (Ximeniconus) Emerson & Old, 1962 represented as Conasprella Thiele, 1929

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 Conasprella Thiele, 1929^[2]

Distinguishing characteristics

The Tucker & Tenorio 2009 taxonomy distinguishes Globiconus from Conus in the following ways:^[3]

• 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.^[3]

• Subgenus Globiconus Tucker & Tenorio, 2009

Shell characters (living and fossil species)

The shell is cylindrical in shape. The protoconch is multispiral with 2.5 whorls. The anal notch is moderate to deep, and the anterior notch is absent. The whorl tops are smooth, and the early whorls are not nodulose but may be ornamented by an undulating carina. The body whorl is ornamented with grooves or sulci reaching the shoulder. The periostracum is smooth, and the operculum has not been observed.

Radular tooth (not known for fossil species)

The radular morphology of Globiconus is unique. The anterior sections of the radular tooth is roughly equal to the length of the posterior section, and the blade is short. A posterior fold is present and modified into a tube, and the posterior blade is absent. A basal spur is present, and the barb is short. A shaft fold is present and is blunt at its anterior end and not pronounced.

Geographical distribution

The only living species in this genus is occurs in the Eastern Pacific region. Fossil species in this genus have been found in the Eastern Pacific region.

Feeding habits

The only living species in this genus is vermivorous (meaning that these snails prey on marine worms).^[3]

Species list

This list of species is based on the information in the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) list. Species within the genus Globiconus include:^[1]

• Globiconus baccatus (G. B. Sowerby III, 1877) represented as Conus baccatus G. B. Sowerby III, 1877 (alternate representation)
• Globiconus tornatus (G.B. Sowerby I, 1833) is equivalent to Conus tornatus G. B. Sowerby I, 1833 (alternate representation)

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.^[3] Published accounts of genera within the Conidae (or Conilithidae) that include the genus Globiconus include J.K. Tucker & M.J. Tenorio (2009), and Bouchet et al. (2011).^[4]

Testing in order to try to understand the molecular phylogeny of the Conidae was initially begun by Christopher Meyer and Alan Kohn,^[5] and is continuing, particularly with the advent of nuclear DNA testing in addition to mDNA testing.

However, in 2011, some experts still 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."^[6] Debate within the scientific community regarding continues, and additional molecular phylogeny studies are being carried out in an attempt to clarify the issue.^{[3][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]}

All this has been superseded in 2015 by the new classification of the Conidae^[2]