Barleeiidae
Family of gastropods
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Barleeiidae (often also spelled Barleeidae) is a family of small sea snails, micromollusks in the clade Littorinimorpha.[1]
| Barleeiidae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| shell of Barleeia rubra | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Order: | Littorinimorpha |
| Superfamily: | Rissooidea |
| Family: | Barleeiidae Gray, 1857 |
| Genera | |
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See text | |
| Synonyms | |
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These snails are very abundant and live in sublittoral and intertidal waters on rocky substrates.
The shells are conical to high-spired. Their inner shell layer is chitinous. They are further characterized by a foot with sometimes a posterior mucous gland. Their olfactory organ, the osphradium is enlarged. In some species there are oesophageal pouches present. Their penis is sometimes provided with prostatic tissue. Their oviduct glands show a simple histology.[2]
Few malacologists are currently working on micromollusks. Since they are so small (only a few millimeters in size), they are difficult to study and classify. Therefore, these small mollusks are less well known than the larger ones.
Genera
Genera in the family Baleeiidae include:
