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 > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs To leave this list, click on the following web link: http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1 Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and click leave the list. ----------------------------------------------------------------------