Conus (Gastridium)

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Spiralia
Cladus: Lophotrochozoa
Phylum: Mollusca
Classis: Gastropoda
Subclassis: Caenogastropoda
Ordo: Neogastropoda
Superfamilia: Conoidea

Familia: Conidae
Genus: Conus
SubGenus: Gastridium
Species: C. (G.) cuvieri – C. (G.) eldredi – C. (G.) geographus – C. (G.) obscurus – C. (G.) tulipa
Name
Conus (Gastridium) Modeer, 1793

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

In the latest classification of the family Conidae by Puillandre N., Duda T.F., Meyer C., Olivera B.M. & Bouchet P. (2015), Gastridium has become a subgenus of Conus as Conus (Gastridium) represented as Conus Linnaeus, 1758.[2]
Distinguishing characteristics

The Tucker & Tenorio 2009 taxonomy distinguishes Gastridium 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 Gastridium Modeer, 1793

Shell characters (living and fossil species)

The shell is cylindrical to ovately cylindrical in shape. The protoconch is multispiral. The shell has bulging body whorl creating a very wide aperture . The anal notch is shallow. The shell is ornamented with tents, as well as spiral lines of minute tents. Textile bars are absent. The periostracum is tufted or ridged, and the operculum is small.

Radular tooth (not known for fossil species)

The anterior section of the radular tooth is greatly elongated compared to the posterior section. The waist is not obvious. The basal spur is absent, and the barb and blade are short. Serrations are present. The radular morphology of this genus is unique as it has no terminating cusp or accessory process.

Geographical distribution

These species are found in the Indo-Pacific region.

Feeding habits

These species are piscivorous, meaning that these cone snails prey on fish.[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 Gastridium include:[1]

Gastridium cuvieri (Crosse, 1858) synonym of Conus cuvieri Crosse, 1858
Gastridium eldredi (Morrison, 1955) synonym of Conus eldredi Morrison, 1955
Gastridium fragilissimum (Petuch, 1979) synonym of Conus fragilissimus Petuch, 1979
Gastridium geographus (Linnaeus, 1758) synonym of Conus geographus Linnaeus, 1758
Gastridium tulipa (Linnaeus, 1758) synonym of Conus tulipa Linnaeus, 1758

References

Gastridium Modeer, 1793. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 06/24/11.
Puillandre, N.; Duda, T. F.; Meyer, C.; Olivera, B. M.; Bouchet, P. (2015-02-01). "One, four or 100 genera? A new classification of the cone snails". Journal of Molluscan Studies. 81 (1): 1–23. doi:10.1093/mollus/eyu055. ISSN 0260-1230. PMC 4541476.

Tucker J.K. & Tenorio M.J. (2009), Systematic Classification of Recent and Fossil Conoidean Gastropods, ConchBooks, Hankenheim, Germany, 295 pp.