Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Correlating Molecular Phylogeny With Venom Apparatus Occurrence In Panamic Auger Snails (Terebridae), Mandë Holford, Nicolas Puillandre, Maria Vittoria Modica, Maren Watkins, Rachel Collin, Eldredge Bermingham, Baldomero M. Olivera

Publications and Research

Central to the discovery of neuroactive compounds produced by predatory marine snails of the superfamily Conoidea (cone snails, terebrids, and turrids) is identifying those species with a venom apparatus. Previous analyses of western Pacific terebrid specimens has shown that some Terebridae groups have secondarily lost their venom apparatus. In order to efficiently characterize terebrid toxins, it is essential to devise a key for identifying which species have a venom apparatus. The findings presented here integrate molecular phylogeny and the evolution of character traits to infer the presence or absence of the venom apparatus in the Terebridae. Using a combined dataset …