Morphological Modeling and Diversity Analysis of the Shell of the Conomurex Luhuanus

Existing morphological models of gastropod mollusks often fail to accurately simulate the shell morphology of certain species and overlook morphological variations within the same genus, which are crucial for quantifying biological growth. This study focuses on Conomurex luhuanus, characterized by its highly inflated shell whorls and severely contracted apex, for which current morphological models are inadequate. We introduce a shell aperture opening function to capture its unique morphology. Utilizing a landmark-based geometric morphometrics approach, we extract geometric parameters from landmark points in two-dimensional sample images to construct a three-dimensional shell model. By comparing the parameters of the digital model with those of real samples, we demonstrate that this method accurately simulates individual morphological differences, providing a new analytical tool for quantifying population variations. This research not only enhances our understanding of the growth and development patterns of mollusks but also offers new insights for the morphological analysis of other complex shell species.