Preliminary results on the Conus cardinalis complex, by Dr. Chris Meyer

Since our meeting last spring at The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum, an initial round of DNA sequencing has been completed. Here we present those results. We compared the DNA sequences of 10 individual animals collected from two localities (sites A and B) on Eleuthera in the Bahamas. We find results that are consistent with the hypothesis that samples from two localities have distinct histories. One form, tentatively labeled as "Conus abbotti" (=jucundus) is represented here by 3 animals, and is found on the eastern central coast of the island (site A). The other locality at the SW tip of the island (site B), may contain two different lineages, one which we originally called "jucundus" (a name that may not apply in this case), and the other we call "sp. x". The genetic distance between these animals is small, with only a few mutations present (8 changes being the greatest distance between samples 1602 "abbotti" and 1605 NOV2 "sp. x"). For reference, in humans the most changes between any two persons would be 5 mutations within a chunk of DNA of similar size. The nomenclature presented here is temporary and may change as we investigate synonymies and priorities. These preliminary findings supported our ideas that the "Conus cardinalis complex" may contain a number of geographically localized genetic lineages. Efforts to sample the group with more individuals and on a larger geographic scale is underway! Keep tuned

Genetic Results - Our first wave of mitochondrial DNA analyses indicates that there may be population structure between Conus abbotti and both Conus jucundus/arangoi and Conus "sp X". Conus abbotti is clearly distinct with at least 4 mutation separating it from the other two major clusters. Both bottom clusters (C. sp "X" and C. jucundus/arangoi) appear distinct, yet one sample of C. sp "X" shows up within the C. jucundus cluster (marked in yellow). The numbers along the branches indicate the number of changes (mutations).