Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2005 Jan;14(1):267-72.
doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2004.02397.x.

Explosive radiation of Cape Verde Conus, a marine species flock

Affiliations

Explosive radiation of Cape Verde Conus, a marine species flock

Thomas F Duda Jr et al. Mol Ecol. 2005 Jan.

Abstract

Nearly 50 species of the marine gastropod genus Conus are restricted to the Cape Verde archipelago. This unusual concentration of endemics within a single set of oceanic islands is extremely uncharacteristic of marine taxa. Here we used phylogenetic analyses of 90 Conus species, including 30 endemics from Cape Verde, to reveal the relationships and origins of the endemic Cape Verde Conus. Results show that these species group in two distinct clades and represent a marine species flock that is restricted to a very narrowly confined geographical area. Species' originations occurred in exceptionally limited parts of the archipelago and in some cases radiations took place solely within single islands. Finally, comparison of levels of divergence between Cape Verde endemics and other Conus species suggests that the radiation of Conus in Cape Verde occurred during the last few million years.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources