Integrative taxonomy reveals that all the phenotype variations are not underpinned by genome in Conidae (Gastropoda, Mollusca)

Abstract

The cone snails are hyper diverse group of marine gastropods and the shell morphology is the base of primary species identification. Among the Conidae, homoplasy and plasticity of morphological characters are common. Since speciation is positively correlated with peptide complexity in Conidae family, the present study was carried out to ascertain the genetic status of drastically varying phenotypes observed among the targeted Conus species of different environments and to detect cryptic species using mitochondrial and nuclear markers. Morphological parameters were recorded for the phenotypes of the species. Specific differences were observed for shell coloration.