Dear Paul et al.,

The Taylor, Kantor and Sysoev (1993) analysis of the phylogenetic context
of the Turridae has been reexamined by our a Conch-L regular [Rosenberg,
G., 1998.  Reproducibility of results in phylogenetic analysis of mollusks:
a reanalysis of Taylor, Kantor, and Sysoev (1993) data set for conoidean
gastropods. Amer. Malac. Bull. 14(2): 219-228. Dec.] with results closer to
the traditional (shell-based) system.  Paul is right; this is a can of worms.

Harry


At 01:36 PM 8/24/99 +0900, you wrote:
>The Turridae are a real can of worms. Many scientists now accept the
>classification of the Conoidea proposed by Taylor, Kantor and Sysoev in the
>Bulletin of the Natural History Museum, London (1993 : vol. 59(2), 125-170)
>which puts the Turridae on an even phylogenetic footing with the Conidae,
>Pervicaciidae and Terebridae. We adopted this arrangement in our Catalogue
>and Bibliography of the Marine Shell-bearing Mollusca of Japan, published
>in May this year. Under this scheme, the 'Turrids' are just part of a
>larger superfamily, and the 'Cones' (Conus and Conorbis) are a subfamily,
>the Coninae.
>What we can say about the 'Turrids' (by which I mean those groups formerly
>treated as the Turridae) is that they are very successful primary predators
>with an enormous distribution. The literature is far from comprehensive,
>and some works on the fossil species (including those of Oostingh and some
>of Powell's work) serve at present only to complicate matters (not that
>they're wrong). As in all such cases, the more you can publish in the form
>of clear figures of specimens with accurate localities, the more you will
>help us all form a picture. This is something anyone can do.
>
>Paul Callomon
>
Harry G. Lee
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