Amathinidae, is a

taxonomic 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme of classes (a taxonomy) and the allocation ...

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

mostly consisting of small and minute

sea snail Sea snails are slow-moving marine (ocean), marine gastropod Mollusca, molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the Taxonomic classification, taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguishe ...

s, marine heterobranch

gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

mollusc Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...

s or

micromollusc A micromollusc is a shelled mollusc which is extremely small, even at full adult size. The word is usually, but not exclusively, applied to marine molluscs, although in addition, numerous species of land snails and freshwater molluscs also ...

s in the superfamily

Pyramidelloidea Pyramidelloidea is a superfamily of mostly very small sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks and micromollusks within the clade Panpulmonata. This is a voluminous taxon: above the species level close to 400 named taxa are referred to this gastr ...

Together with

Pyramidellidae Pyramidellidae, common name the pyram family, or pyramid shells, is a voluminous taxonomic family of mostly small and minute ectoparasitic sea snails, marine heterobranch gastropod molluscs. The great majority of species of pyrams are micromol ...

, Ebalidae, Turbonillidae, Odostomidae and other genera they form the superfamily

. Little is known on the biology of the group, but some data on the anatomy and systematic position is given by Ponder (1987) and Huber (1993).

1999 taxonomy

Genera within the family Amathinidae according to the taxonomy of Schander, Van Aartsen & Corgan (1999) include: *Genus '' Amathina'' J. E. Gray, 1842 *Genus '' Amathinoides'' Sacco, 1896 *Genus '' Carinorbis'' Conrad, 1862 *Genus '' Cyclothyca'' Stearns, 1861 *Genus '' Faluniella'' Cossman, 1921 *Genus '' Iselica'' Dall, 1918 *Genus '' Leucotina'' A. Adams, 1860 *Genus '' Phasianema'' Wood, 1842 *Genus '' Plicifer'' H. Adams, 1868

2005 taxonomy

This family has no subfamilies.

Genera

This family presently comprises less than 100 recent and

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

species divided into seven genera: '' Amathina'', '' Amathinoides'', '' Carinorbis'', '' Cyclothyca'', '' Iselica'', '' Leucotina'' and '' Phasianema''. Two additional genera, '' Faluniella'' and '' Plicifer'' may also be a part of Amathinidae: * '' Faluniella'' Cossmann, 1921 Genera within the family Amathinidae include: * '' Amathina'' Gray, 1842 * '' Cyclothyca'' Stearns, 1891 * '' Iselica'' Dall, 1918 * '' Leucotina'' A. Adams, 1860Gofas, S. (2010). ''Leucotina'' A. Adams, 1860. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=181116 on 2011-01-11 * '' Monotygma'' G. B. Sowerby II, 1839 * '' Plicifer'' H. Adams, 1868 * † '' Raulinia'' Mayer, 1864 ;Genera brought into synonymy: * ''Adelactaeon'' Cossmann, 1895: synonym of '' Leucotina'' A. Adams, 1860 * ''Amathinoides'' Sacco, 1896 † accepted as ''Clathrella'' Récluz, 1864 accepted as '' Carinorbis'' Conrad, 1862 * ''Clathrella'' Récluz, 1864 accepted as '' Carinorbis'' Conrad, 1862 * ''Isapis'' H. Adams & A. Adams, 1854 accepted as ''Iselica'' Dall, 1918 (Invalid: junior homonym of ''Isapis'' Doubleday, 1847 epidoptera ''Iselica'' is a replacement name) * ''Myonia'' A. Adams, 1860: synonym of '' Leucotina'' A. Adams, 1860

Anatomy

The shells are usually flat without coiling. They usually have strong axial ribs. Ponder described giant neurons in the cerebral ganglion.

References

* Ponder, W. F. (1987). The anatomy and relationships of the pyramidellacean limpet, Amathina tricarinata (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Asian Marine Biology. 4: 1–34

External links

Bouchet, P. & Rocroi, J.-P. (2005). Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families. Malacologia. 47 (1–2): 1-397
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1967715 Taxa named by Winston Ponder