Africonus


Africonus is a taxon of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Conidae. Although originally described as a distinct subgenus, it is currently considered as an alternative representation of the cone snail genus, Conus.

Distinguishing characteristics

The Tucker & Tenorio 2009 taxonomy distinguishes Africonus from Conus in the following ways:
  • Genus Conus sensu stricto Linnaeus, 1758
  • Subgenus Africonus Petuch, 1975

Species

Prior to 2009, all species within the family Conidae 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. This classification was based upon shell morphology, radular differences, anatomy, physiology, cladistics, with comparisons to molecular studies. Published accounts of genera within the Conidae that include the genus Africonus include J.K. Tucker & M.J. Tenorio, and Bouchet et al..
Testing in order to try to understand the molecular phylogeny of the Conidae 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.
Many authorities continue to use the traditional classification, where all species are placed in Conus within the single family Conidae including the current version of the World Register of Marine Species. The binomial names of species in the 82 cone snail genera listed in Tucker & Tenorio 2009 are currently recognized by the World Register of Marine Species 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.
In 2015, in the Journal of Molluscan Studies, Puillandre, Duda, Meyer, Olivera & Bouchet presented a new classification for the old genus Conus. Using 329 species, the authors carried out molecular phylogenetic analyses. The results suggested that the authors should place all cone snails in a single family, Conidae, containing four genera: Conus, Conasprella, Profundiconus and Californiconus. The authors group 85% of all known cone snail species under Conus, They recognize 57 subgenera within Conus, and 11 subgenera within the genus Conasprella.
In this description of the family Conidae, Africonus is classified as a subgenus of Conus: Conus Monterosato, 1923 represented as Conus Thiele, 1929
All the species formerly classified in the genus Africonus are now considered as "alternate representations" of species in the genus Conus:
;Species brought into synonymy
The following species were synonymized:
  • Africonus angeluquei Tenorio, Abalde & Zardoya, 2018 accepted as Africonus perrineae T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2018
  • Africonus anthonyi Petuch, 1975 accepted as Africonus cuneolus
  • Africonus antonioi T. Cossignani, 2014 accepted as Africonus crotchii
  • Africonus barrosensis T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2017 accepted as Africonus boavistensis
  • Africonus bernardinoi T. Cossignani, 2014 accepted as Africonus cuneolus
  • Africonus cabraloi T. Cossignani, 2014 accepted as Africonus crotchii
  • Africonus cagarralensis T. Cossignani, 2014 accepted as Africonus longilineus
  • Africonus calhetinensis T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2014 accepted as Africonus crotchii
  • Africonus cazalisoi T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2018 accepted as Kalloconus trochulus
  • Africonus claudiae accepted as Africonus galeao
  • Africonus condei Afonso & Tenorio, 2014 accepted as Africonus crotchii
  • Africonus cossignanii T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2014 accepted as Africonus maioensis
  • Africonus crioulus accepted as Africonus maioensis
  • Africonus cristinapessoae T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2017 accepted as Africonus fuscoflavus
  • Africonus damioi T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2015 accepted as Africonus roeckeli
  • Africonus decolrobertoi T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2017 accepted as Africonus maioensis
  • Africonus demisgeraldoi T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2018 accepted as Africonus josephinae
  • Africonus derrubado accepted as Africonus damottai
  • Africonus diegoi T. Cossignani, 2014 accepted as Africonus damottai
  • Africonus diminutus accepted as Conus diminutus Trovão & Rolán, 1986
  • Africonus docensis T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2014 accepted as Africonus crotchii
  • Africonus echinophilus Petuch, 1975 accepted as Conus echinophilus
  • Africonus evorai accepted as Africonus crotchii
  • Africonus fantasmalis accepted as Africonus fuscoflavus
  • Africonus fiadeiroi Tenorio, Afonso, R. Cunha & Rolán, 2014 accepted as Africonus crotchii
  • Africonus fontonae accepted as Africonus cuneolus
  • Africonus gallopalvoi T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2017 accepted as Africonus fuscoflavus
  • Africonus gonsalensis T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2014 accepted as Africonus santanaensis Afonso & Tenorio, 2014
  • Africonus guiandradoi T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2017 accepted as Africonus josephinae
  • Africonus irregularis accepted as Africonus crotchii
  • Africonus josegeraldoi T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2018 accepted as Africonus crotchii
  • Africonus joserochoi T. Cossignani, 2014 accepted as Africonus delanoyae
  • Africonus luquei accepted as Africonus delanoyae
  • Africonus marckeppensi T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2017 accepted as Africonus josephinae
  • Africonus marcocastellazzii T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2014 accepted as Africonus maioensis
  • Africonus melissae accepted as Africonus longilineus
  • Africonus messiasi accepted as Africonus fuscoflavus
  • Africonus miguelfiaderoi T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2015 accepted as Africonus vulcanus
  • Africonus minimus T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2015 accepted as Africonus longilineus
  • Africonus mordeirae accepted as Africonus cuneolus
  • Africonus morroensis T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2014 accepted as Africonus diminutus
  • Africonus nelsonandradoi T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2015 accepted as Africonus longilineus
  • Africonus nelsontiagoi T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2014 accepted as Africonus verdensis
  • Africonus padarosae T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2018 accepted as Africonus antoniaensis T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2014
  • Africonus pedrofiadeiroi T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2015 accepted as Africonus borgesi
  • Africonus pinedensis T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2017 accepted as Africonus damottai
  • Africonus pseudocuneolus accepted as Africonus cuneolus
  • Africonus purvisi T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2017 accepted as Africonus damottai
  • Africonus roquensis T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2015 accepted as Africonus damottai
  • Africonus salreiensis accepted as Africonus crotchii
  • Africonus serranegrae accepted as Africonus cuneolus
  • Africonus silviae T. Cossignani, 2014 accepted as Africonus fuscoflavus
  • Africonus swinneni Tenorio, Afonso, R. Cunha & Rolán, 2014 accepted as Africonus delanoyae
  • Africonus tarafensis T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2018 accepted as Africonus fuscoflavus
  • Africonus teodorae accepted as Africonus crotchii
  • Africonus umbelinae T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2014 accepted as Africonus damottai
  • Africonus varandinhensis T. Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2017 accepted as Africonus boavistensis
  • Africonus wandae T. Cossignani, 2014 accepted as Africonus borgesi
  • Africonus zinhoi T. Cossignani, 2014 accepted as ''Africonus maioensis''