Africonus maioensis
Creators: name: Tenorio, Manuel J.
name: Abalde, Samuel
name: Pardos-Blas, José R.
name: Zardoya, Rafael
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Mollusca
Gastropoda
Neogastropoda
Conidae
Africonus
Africonus maioensis

description: Africonus maioensis (Trovão, Rolán & Félix-Alves, 1990)
Fig. 4O
Conus maioensis Trovão, Rolán & Félix-Alves, 1990: 71, fig. 11.
Conus crioulus Tenorio & Afonso, 2004: 30, pl. 5.
Africonus zinhoi Cossignani, 2014: 19.
Africonus marcocastellazzii Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2014a: 14.
Africonus cossignanii Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2014a: 18. syn. nov.
Africonus decolrobertoi Cossignani & Fiadeiro, 2017a: 28. syn. nov.
Conus maioensis – Monteiro et al. 2004: 57, pl. 115.
Conus irregularis (not irregularis G.B. Sowerby II, 1858) – Monteiro et al. 2004: pl. 103, figs 1, 4, 6–7.
Material examined
The holotype was in Museu Bocage in Lisbon and currently assumed to be lost due to a fire which destroyed the building of the hosting institution. A neotype was subsequently designated (Monteiro et al. 2014).
Neotype
CABO VERDE • 24.5 mm; Maio Island, Porto Cais, Baía do Navío Quebrado; 15º20ʹ N, 23º12ʹ W; MNCN 15.05/69910.
Other material
CABO VERDE • 1 spec., 29.5 mm; Maio Island, Porto Cais; 15º19ʹ15ʺ N, 23º11ʹ10ʺ W; 31 Mar. 2013; MNCN exped.; GenBank mitochondrion, partial genome: MF491523; MNCN 15.05/78689 (Fig. 4O) • 1 spec.; Maio Island, Lage Branca; 31 Mar. 2013; MNCN exped.; GenBank mitochondrion, partial genome: MF491527; MNCN 15.05/79727 • 1 spec.; Maio Island, Porto Cais (North); 15º19ʹ45ʺ N, 23º10ʹ57ʺ W; 1 Apr. 2013; MNCN exped.; GenBank mitochondrion, partial genome: MF491530; MNCN 15.05/78765 • 1 spec.; Maio Island, Praia Santana; 15º18ʹ13ʺ N, 23º11ʹ49ʺ W; 30 Mar. 2013; MNCN exped.; GenBank mitochondrion, partial genome: MF491521; MNCN 15.05/78670 • 1 spec.; Boa Vista Island, Baía Grande, Derrubado; 16º13ʹ31ʺ N, 22º47ʹ17ʺ W; 1 Apr. 2013; MNCN exped.; GenBank mitochondrion, partial genome: MF491544; MNCN 15.05/80394 • 1 spec.; Boa Vista Island, Curral Velho; 15º58ʹ4ʺ N, 22º47’42ʺ W; 22 Apr. 2015; MNCN exped.; GenBank mitochondrion, partial genome: MF491595; MNCN 15.05/79979 • 1 spec., 28.5 mm, holotype of Africonus cossignanii; Maio Island, Praia Real; MMM • 1 spec., 13.1 mm, holotype of Africonus decolrobertoi; Maio Island, Praia Real; MMM.
Geographical distribution
Maio and Boa Vista islands, Cabo Verde Archipelago.
Conservation status in IUCN Red List
Least concern.
Remarks
This is one of the most representative species of Maio Island, as reflected by its name. Off Maio Island it is distributed along the north coast, from Baía do Navio Quebrado to Baía do Galeao. Each of the populations has its own characteristic shell pattern on a green to black background color. This variability has led to the introduction of several new taxa names. However, an examination of the mitogenome sequences indicates that all these names correspond to plain color forms of one single polymorphic species, namely A. maioensis. Some individuals of the polyphyletic taxon A. irregularis also fell within the A. maioensis clade. One of them was from the population from Porto Cais, on Maio Island, and the other from Baia Grande de Derrubado, Boa Vista Island. Once that we have designated the lectotype for the taxon Conus irregularis G.B. Sowerby II, 1858 and its type locality as “Estancinha, north of Sal Rei, Boa Vista Island”, and established that this is a synonym (form) of A. crotchii (see above), it becomes clear that the irregularis -like specimen from Boa Vista in the maioensis clade is not conspecific with A. irregularis (= A. crotchii), but with A. maioensis. This indicates that the distribution range of A. maioensis is not restricted to Maio Island, as it expands to Boa Vista Island. Furthermore, the recently described species A. zinhoi from south Boa Vista Island also fell within the A. maioensis clade, and it is therefore another synonym (form) of A. maioensis. The holotype of A. cossignanii is virtually identical to A. crioulus, a form of A. maioensis. The alleged differences in shell length and spire profile were not tested, and the minimal differences in shell pattern do not justify a separation at the species level. The recently described A. decolrobertoi is likely a juvenile of the population of A. maioensis from Praia Real, north Maio (which had previously been introduced as a separate species named A. marcocastellazzii). This population is characterized by a predominance of greenish shades on the shell pattern. Other than that, it is merely another morph of A. maioensis.
description: Published as part of Tenorio, Manuel J., Abalde, Samuel, Pardos-Blas, José R. & Zardoya, Rafael, 2020, Taxonomic revision of West African cone snails (Gastropoda: Conidae) based upon mitogenomic studies: implications for conservation, pp. 1-89 in European Journal of Taxonomy 663 (663) on pages 37-38, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2020.663, http://zenodo.org/record/3890442