Strombus

For the scientific journal, see Strombus (journal).
Strombus
Temporal range: Cretaceous - Recent[1]
Five views of a shell of the West Indian fighting conch, Strombus pugilis, type species of the genus Strombus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Littorinimorpha
Superfamily: Stromboidea
Family: Strombidae
Genus: Strombus
Linnaeus, 1758[2]
Type species
Strombus pugilis
Linnaeus, 1758
Species

See text

Synonyms
  • Pyramis Röding, 1798
  • Strombella Schlüter, 1838

Strombus is a genus of medium to large sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Strombidae, which comprises the true conchs and their immediate relatives. The genus Strombus was named by Swedish Naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758. There were around 50 living species recognized, which vary in size from fairly small to very large. Six species live in the greater Caribbean region, including the queen conch, Strombus gigas (now usually known as Eustrombus gigas or Lobatus gigas), and the West Indian fighting conch, Strombus pugilis. However, since 2006, many species have been assigned to discrete genera.[3] These new genera are however not yet found in most textbooks and collector's guides.

Worldwide, several of the larger species are economically important as food sources; these include the endangered queen conch which very rarely also produces a pink, gem quality pearl.

In the geological past, a much larger number of species of Strombus existed.[4] Fossils of species within this genus have been found all over the world in sediments from Cretaceous to Quaternary (age range: 140.2 to 0.0 million years ago).[5]

Of the living species, most are in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Many species of true conchs live on sandy bottoms among beds of sea grass in tropical waters. They eat algae and have a claw-shaped operculum.

Description

Anatomy

Live animal of the Florida fighting conch Strombus alatus. Note the extensible snout in the foreground, and the two stalked eyes behind it

Like almost all shelled gastropods, conches have spirally constructed shells. Again, as is normally the case in many gastropods, this spiral shell growth is usually right-handed, but on very rare occasions it can be left-handed.

True conches have long eye stalks, with colorful ring-marked eyes at the tips. The shell has a long and narrow aperture, and a short siphonal canal, with another indentation near the anterior end called a stromboid notch. This notch is where one of the two eye stalks protrudes from the shell.

The true conch has a foot ending in a pointed, sickle-shaped, operculum which can be dug into the substrate as part of an unusual "leaping" locomotion.

True conches grow a flared lip on their shells only upon reaching sexual maturity. This is called an alated outer lip or alation.

Conches lay eggs in long strands: the eggs are contained in twisted gelatinous tubes.[6] Strombus moves with a leaping motion.[7]

Shell description

Strombus shells have a flaring outer lip with a notch near the anterior end called the stromboid notch through which the animal can protrude one of its stalked eyes.[8]

Phylogeny

Strombidae

Terebellum terebellum

Canarium urceus

Conomurex luhuanus

Tricornis raninus

Lambis lambis

Strombus

Eustrombus

Aliger









A simplified version of the phylogeny and relationships of Strombidae according to Simone (2005)[9]


 






Strombus gallus

Strombus gigas

Strombus costatus

Strombus raninus

Strombus peruvianus

Strombus galeus

Strombus latus



Strombus pugilis

Strombus alatus

Strombus gracilior

Strombus granulatus







Phylogeny and relationships of Eastern Pacific and Atlantic Strombus species, according to Latiolais et al. (2006)[3]

The phylogenetic relationships among the Strombidae have been mainly accessed in two different occasions, using two distinct methods. In a 2005 monograph, Simone proposed a cladogram (a tree of descent) based on an extensive morpho-anatomical analysis of representatives of Aporrhaidae, Strombidae, Xenophoridae and Struthiolariidae.[9] However, according to Simone, only Strombus gracilior, Strombus alatus and Strombus pugilis, the type species, remained within Strombus. In Simone's cladogram, these three species constituted a distinct group based on at least five synapomorphies (traits that are shared by two or more taxa and their most recent common ancestor). The remaining taxa were previously considered as subgenera, and were elevated to genus level by Simone in the end of his analysis.[9]

In a different approach, Latiolais and colleagues (2006) proposed another cladogram that attempts to show the phylogenetic relationships of 34 species within the family Strombidae. The authors analysed 31 species in the genus Strombus and three species in the allied genus Lambis. The cladogram was based on DNA sequences of both nuclear histone H3 and mitochondrial cytochrome-c oxidase I (COI) protein-coding gene regions. In this proposed phylogeny, Strombus pugilis, Strombus alatus, Strombus granulatus and Strombus gracilior are closely related and appear to share a common ancestor.[3]

Species

This genus of sea snails used to comprise about 50 species,[10] 38 of them occurring in the Indo-Pacific region.[11] Species within the genus Strombus include:

Extinct species
Fossil shell of Strombus radix
Fossil shell of Strombus coronatus from Pliocene of Italy

Extinct species within this genus include:[5]

Species brought into synonymy 

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sepkoski, J. J. Jr. (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 363: 99.
  2. ↑ Linnaeus C. (1758). Systema Naturae, ed. 10, 742; 1767, ed. 12, 1207.
  3. 1 2 3 Latiolais, J. M.; Taylor M. S.; Roy, K.; Hellberg, M. E. (2006). "A molecular phylogenetic analysis of strombid gastropod morphological diversity". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 41: 436-444. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.05.027.PDF.
  4. ↑ See Bellsouthpwp.net, Family Strombidae
  5. 1 2 Fossilworks
  6. ↑ R. Tucker Abbott, American Seashells, New York (2d. ed., 1974) p. 143
  7. ↑ Sealifebase
  8. ↑ Kenneth R. Wye, The Encyclopedia of Shells, Londo, 2004, p. 70.
  9. 1 2 3 Simone, L. R. L. (2005). "Comparative morphological study of representatives of the three families of Stromboidea and the Xenophoroidea (Mollusca, Caenogastropoda), with an assessment of their phylogeny" (PDF). Arquivos de Zoologia. São Paulo, Brazil: Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo. 37 (2): 141–267. ISSN 0066-7870.
  10. ↑ Cob, Z. C. et al. (2009). "Species Description and Distribution of Strombus (Mollusca: Strombidae) in Johor Straits and its Surrounding Areas". Sains Malaysiana 38 (1): 39–46.
  11. ↑ Abbott, R.T. (1960). "The genus Strombus in the Indo-pacific". Indo-Pacific Mollusca 1(2): 33-144
  12. ↑ Strombus alatus Gmelin, 1791.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  13. ↑ Strombus pugilis Linnaeus, 1758.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  14. ↑ Strombus aurisdianae Linnaeus, 1759.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  15. ↑ Strombus bulla Röding, 1798.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  16. ↑ Strombus canarium Linnaeus, 1758.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  17. ↑ Strombus decorus (Röding, 1798).  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  18. ↑ Strombus debelensis .  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  19. ↑ Strombus dentatus Linnaeus, 1758.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  20. ↑ Strombus epidromis Linnaeus, 1758.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  21. ↑ Strombus erythrinus Dillwyn, 1817.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  22. ↑ Strombus fasciatus Born, 1778.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  23. ↑ Strombus fusiformis Sowerby, 1842.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  24. ↑ Strombus gallus Linnaeus, 1758.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  25. ↑ Strombus gibberulus Linnaeus, 1758.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  26. ↑ Strombus guidoi Man in t'Veld & De Turck, 1998.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  27. ↑ Strombus haemastoma Sowerby, 1842.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  28. ↑ Strombus hickeyi Willan, 2000.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  29. ↑ Strombus labiatus Röding, 1798.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  30. ↑ Strombus labiosus Gray in Wood, 1828.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  31. ↑ Strombus latus Gmelin, 1791.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  32. ↑ Strombus lentiginosus Linnaeus, 1758.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  33. ↑ Strombus listeri Gray, 1852.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  34. ↑ Strombus luhuanus Linnaeus, 1758.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  35. ↑ Strombus magolecciai Macsotay & Villarroel, 2001.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  36. ↑ Strombus mutabilis Swainson, 1821.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  37. ↑ Strombus oldi Emerson, 1965.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  38. ↑ Strombus persicus (Swainson, 1821).  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  39. ↑ Strombus plicatus Röding, 1798.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  40. ↑ Strombus sinuatus Humphrey, 1786.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  41. ↑ Strombus terebellatus Sowerby, 1842.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  42. ↑ Strombus tricornis (Humphrey, 1786).  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  43. ↑ Strombus urceus Linnaeus, 1758.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  44. ↑ Strombus ustulatus (Schumacher, 1817).  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  45. ↑ Strombus variabilis Swainson, 1820.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
  46. ↑ Strombus wilsoni Abbott, 1967.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 27 June 2010.
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