Cone Shells: A Synopsis of the Living Conidae

Contents: New Taxa List - Shell Structure - Soft Anatomy -Radula and Feeding -Dangerous Cones -Natural History -The Cone Collection -Cone Identification -Family Conidae -SPECIES ACCOUNTS Doubtful and Unrecognizable Species -Doubtful Taxa -Unrecognizable Names-Non-cones -Selected Bibliography-Index I: Partial List of Dealer-names and Their Equivalents Index II: List of Fossil Names Index III: Names Applied to Living Cones // Of all the popular groups of snails, the cones present the greatest taxonomic problems. This statement can be made with some assurance, as most of the other popular collector's shells, such as cowries, volutes, olives, and murexes, have had some type of recent treatment usable to collectors and professionals alike. The cones consist of about 300 species plus several dozen distinctive subspecies and forms, as well as many dubious names. The last attempt to cover in a systematic fashion all the living cones was in Tryon's Manual of Conchology, volume 6, 1883-1884. Not only is this now an uncommon work available to few collectors, but in addition it is taxonomically unsatisfactory by modern standards. The collecting of cones soon turns the serious hobbyist into an amateur taxonomist, whether he likes it or not. Dealers are often unable to correctly identify their offerings, although most try to do so. There are very complicated nomenclatural problems which every collector must face in order to even write a simple label. Some species come in a confusing variety of patterns, shapes, and names, and the collector must think carefully before purchasing from lists. Even then he is likely to receive a very different shell from what he thought he ordered. This book is intended as an introduction to this complex family of snails. It is aimed primarily at the serious advanced collector who really cares about the identification of descriptions and synonymics of the valid taxa. Throughout this book I have tried to use the most modern and acceptable names,