(08-19-2017, 12:00 PM)JackSullivan Wrote: I went looking for more cone species that had blue pigmented bases & found 3: another form of Conus (Lividiconus) muriculatus & 2 species in clade Leporiconus: Conus (Leporiconus) glans (which I have already posted about) & very surprisingly an example in in the apparently highly variable species Conus (Leporiconus) coffeae, which I have also already posted about. A recently acquired specimen of C. coffeae showed almost completely black pigmentation & no indication of a blue base. But the one I acquired tonight (pix below) has much less black pigmentation & a bright blue base. If the blue region is indeed involved with heat exchange & thermoregulation, the formation of the blue pigmented bases in these species could be the result of adaptation to different environments.

I'm now interested in trying to find out how closely these 2 clades are related both genetically & geographically.