Dear Marien,

In their book on Oliva, Bernard Tursch and Dietmar Greifeneder described a
phenomenon that they named "local color palette". This is where a number of
species from the same locality which are very structurally different, share
the same colors and pattern. This is very common in Oliva species,
especially in the Philippines and the Caribbean. This may be the result of
the development of cryptic coloration or simply, using the molecular
building blocks and pigments that are found in their common environment.
This could be true with other genera as well. A number of Conus species
share similar pattern elements and color.

I am looking forward to reading the description in Visaya. I am certain that
the authors have described significant structural differences that are
present in glorioceanus that are not present in gloriamaris. A number of
researchers have used computers and biometrics to try to sort out the
taxonomy of families and genera of mollusks. This usually does not have the
best outcomes and does not replace the basic studies of anatomy and
morphology. We may have to wait for those who have the resources to build a
genetic map and sort out the DNA to combine that knowledge with the other
parameters mentioned to be more confident in our decisions.

Best wishes,

Dennis Sargent



-----Original Message-----
From: Conchologists List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Marien Faber
Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 4:17 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [CONCH-L] New species of Cone: it' s a dwarfed gloriamaris

> Vol. 2 nr. 4 from Visaya has now been published and This number contains
> the description of CONUS GLORIOCEANUS Poppe &
> Tagaro, 2009.

Dear Conchlers, I do not want to be the party pooper but I could not resist
copying the image of C. glorioceanus and lengthen the whole picture and
hence the shell and spire (easily done with the Photoshop"scale" button).
What I got is a perfect C. gloriamaris. Now I am certain that C.
glorioceanus is only a vertically challenged gloriamaris. Probably a single
malfunctioning gene is responsible for such a shortened shell. Peculiar,
perhaps unique, but not a new species. Which leaves the question: why should
one think that this shell belongs to a different genus?

Marien

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