Aliger gallus

Aliger gallus, previously known as Strombus gallus, common name the rooster conch or rooster-tail conch,[1] is a species of medium-sized sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Strombidae, the true conchs.[2]

Aliger gallus
A shell of the rooster conch, Aliger gallus.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Littorinimorpha
Family: Strombidae
Genus: Aliger
Species:
A. gallus
Binomial name
Aliger gallus
Synonyms
  • Lambis velum Röding, 1798
  • Lobatus gallus (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Strombus gallus Linnaeus, 1758 (original combination)
  • Strombus solitaris Perry, 1811

Distribution

This species is found from southeast Florida and Bermuda through the West Indies and south to Brazil.[3]

A shell of Aliger gallus from Haiti

Shell description

The average shell length of this species is about 12.5 cm.[3]

The maximum recorded shell length is 197 mm.[4]

Habitat

The minimum recorded depth for this species is 0.3 m.; the maximum recorded depth is 82 m.[4]

Phylogeny
Strombidae
 

Terebellum terebellum

 
 
 

Canarium urceus

 
 
 

Conomurex luhuanus

 
 
 

Tricornis raninus

 
 
 

Lambis lambis

 
 
 

Strombus

 
 
 

Eustrombus

 
 

Aliger

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A simplified version of the phylogeny and relationships of Strombidae according to Simone (2005)[5]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Strombus gallus

 
 

Strombus gigas

 
 
 

Strombus costatus

 
 
 
 

Strombus raninus

 
 

Strombus peruvianus

 
 
 
 

Strombus galeus

 
 
 

Strombus latus

 
 
 
 
 
 

Strombus pugilis

 
 

Strombus alatus

 
 
 

Strombus gracilior

 
 
 

Strobus granulatus

 
 
 
Part of the Phylogeny and relationships of Strombidae according to Latiolais (2006)[6]

The phylogenetic relationships among the Strombidae have been mainly accessed on two occasions, by Simone (2005)[5] and Latiolais (2006),[6] using two distinct methods. Simone proposed a cladogram (a tree of descent) based on an extensive morpho-anatomical analysis of representatives of Aporrhaidae, Strombidae, Xenophoridae and Struthiolariidae, which included L. gallus (there referred to as Aliger gallus).[5]

With the exception of Lambis and Terebellum, the remaining taxa were previously allocated within the genus Strombus, including L. gallus. However, according to Simone, only Strombus gracilior, Strombus alatus and Strombus pugilis, the type species, remained within Strombus, as they constituted a distinct group based on at least five synapomorphies (traits that are shared by two or more taxa and their most recent common ancestor).[5] The remaining taxa were previously considered as subgenera, and were elevated to genus level by Simone in the end of his analysis. The genus Aliger (now considered a synonym of Lobatus[7]), in this case, included Aliger gallus (now considered a synonym of Lobatus gallus) and Aliger costatus (= Lobatus costatus), which were thus considered closely related.[5]

In a different approach, Latiolais and colleagues (2006) proposed another cladogram that attempts to show the phylogenetic relationships of 34 species within the family Strombidae. The authors analysed 31 species in the genus Strombus includingLobatus gallus (there referred to as Strombus gallus), and three species in the allied genus Lambis. The cladogram was based on DNA sequences of both nuclear histone H3 and mitochondrial cytochrome-c oxidase I (COI) protein-coding gene regions. In this proposed phylogeny, Strombus gigas (= Lobatus gigas) and Strombus gallus are closely related and appear to share a common ancestor.[6]

References
  1. Dance P. S. (1977). The Encyclopedia of Shells. Blandford Press, Dorset. 82-83. ISBN 0-7137-0698-8.
  2. MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Aliger gallus (Linnaeus, 1758). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=419692 on 2020-04-02
  3. Abbott, R. T.; Dance, S. P. (2000). Compendium of Seashells. Odyssey Publishing, California. p. 76. ISBN 0-9661720-0-0
  4. Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". PLOS One 5(1): e8776. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0008776.
  5. Simone, L. R. L. (2005). "Comparative morphological study of representatives of the three families of Stromboidea and the Xenophoroidea (Mollusca, Caenogastropoda), with an assessment of their phylogeny" (PDF). Arquivos de Zoologia. São Paulo, Brazil: Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo. 37 (2): 141–267. ISSN 0066-7870. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2012.
  6. Latiolais J. M., Taylor M. S., Roy K. & Hellberg M. E. (2006). "A molecular phylogenetic analysis of strombid gastropod morphological diversity". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 41: 436-444. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.05.027. PDF.
  7. Lobatus Swainson, 1837. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 5 December 2012.

Further reading
  • Rosenberg, G., F. Moretzsohn, and E. F. García. 2009. Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 579–699 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas
  • Maxwell S.J., Dekkers A.M., Rymer T.L. & Congdon B.C. (2020). Towards resolving the American and West African Strombidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Neostromboidae) using integrated taxonomy. The Festivus. 52(1): 3-38.
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