Dear Kay and Conch-Lers

Conus californicus has an unique radular morphology. The most striking
characteristic is that it that the tooth shows five barbs. No other species
of conidae has so many barbs. The term "specialised" is used because the
morphology of the radular tooth adapts to the specific prey of the conus
(i.e. the particular species of worm if vermivorous, or mollusc if
molluscivorous). Little is known about the specific dietary habits of each
particular species. This means that it is difficult to establish which
species of worm, mollusc or even fish constitutes the main diet for each
conus species. It is also possible that determined species of conidae have
a "generalistic" diet, and therefore, they have a multifunction radular
tooth which might be used against a variety of preys. It is unclear to me
if the radular tooth of californicus has this unique design because is very
specialised or because it is rather generalistic. Certainly, the tooth does
not possibly allow preying on fish because of the small size and design,
but it is valid for a variety of worms and maybe certain molluscs.
Best wishes

Manuel Jimenez Tenorio
On Thu, 21 Apr 2005 16:32:21 EDT, Kay Peterson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Would someone please comment further on the "specialised" radula of Conus
>californicus?
>
>Thank you.
>
>Kay
>

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