EDITORIAL

The family Conidae Rafinesque, 1815 (Mollusca, Gastropoda) has always beeN°one of the most popular among collectors, along with others such as Cypraeidae, Volutidae, Muricidae, Pectinidae, etc. It comprises a large number of species that so far have beeN°usually included iN°the single genus Conus Linnaeus, 1758, despite several attempts to separate it into a system of different genera and subgenera, whichhowever have not beeN°universally accepted.

It should also be noted that iN°a recent (2005) work, ClassificatioN°and Nomenclator (sp?) of Gastropod Families, Bouchet and Rocroi included the subfamilies of Claturellinae, Conorbinae, Mangeliinae, Oenopotinae and Raphitominae iN°the Conidae. These subfamilies were previously included iN°the family Turridae. Nevertheless, most collectors of Cones will most probably restrict their collections to those species so far attributed to the genus Conus alone. Many such collectors are iN°touch with one another, either iN°persoN°, through correspondence or, more recently – and ever more frequently – through e-mail. The large number of species of Cones and the continuous publicatioN°of new papers, either describing new taxa or discussing existing ones, makes it some times hard to follow everything that is pertinent to the study and collectioN°of the group. For this reasoN°, it was felt that aN°informal newsletter exclusively dedicated to Cones, to be distributed among all interested parties – collectors, researchers and dealers – could have some utility as a means of circulating news and informatioN°among all. With this is mind, we present to you the first issue of The Cone Collector. This is to be thought of as a trial issue, sent to a number of friends and collectors around the world, mainly to give everybody a general idea of our aim.

Any suggestions as to form and content will obviously be very welcome
António Monteiro