Helicinidae

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Helicinidae
A live individual of Helicina rhodostoma
A live individual of Alcadia conuloides
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Neritimorpha
Order: Cycloneritida
Superfamily: Helicinoidea
Family: Helicinidae
Férussac, 1822
Genera

See text

Diversity[1]
770-1400 species (estimation)

Helicinidae is a family of small tropical land snails, terrestrial operculate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Helicinoidea.

These snails are not at all closely related to the air-breathing land snails, despite a superficial similarity of the shells. The name "Helicinidae" immediately reminds most people of "Helicidae", the most well-known group of land snails including e.g. Helix pomatia, but the important two letters "ni" only from the Latin diminutive of the latter name alluding to superficial similarities of otherwise completely different things.

Geophorus romblonensis

Distribution

These snails are found in tropical and subtropical areas but they have an odd distribution: they are restricted to the Caribbean islands and some Indo-Pacific and Pacific islands, as well as the edge of the Asian and Australian continents. Some species are found in the southern United States, from Louisiana to Florida; others in Central and South America.

Taxonomy

Helicinidae belongs to superfamily Helicinoidea according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005).[2]

This family consists of six following subfamilies (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005):

Genera

Genera within the family Helicinidae include:

Subfamily Helicininae

subfamily Ceratodiscinae

  • Ceratodiscus Simpson & Henderson, 1901 - type genus of the subfamily Ceratodiscinae[2]

Subfamily † Dimorphoptychiinae

Subfamily Hendersoniinae

Subfamily Stoastomatinae

  • Stoastoma C. B. Adams, 1849 - type genus of the subfamily Stoastomatinae[2]

Subfamily Vianinae

Subfamily ?

References

Further reading

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