Cochlespiridae 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 ...

of predatory

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 gastropod mollusks in the superfamily

Conoidea Conoidea is a Taxonomic rank, superfamily of predatory sea snails, marine (ocean), marine gastropod Mollusc, mollusks within the suborder Hypsogastropoda. This superfamily is a very large group of marine mollusks, estimated at 340 recent valid gen ...

. This family is not well differentiated morphologically, and there is poor congruence between the molecular and shell characters. Its limits are uncertain. Even the contents of most of the genera are in need of revision. The family is composed of some genera that used to belong to the subfamily

Cochlespirinae Cochlespirinae was a subfamily of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks, belonging to the family Turridae, commonly named turrids. It has been raised to the rank of family Cochlespiridae Powell, 1942 Genera Genera in the subfam ...

, in the family

Turridae Turridae is a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic family (biology), family name for a number of predatory sea snails, Marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea.MolluscaBase (2018). Turridae H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853 (1838). ...

. This family has no subfamilies.

General characteristics

This family consists of moderately sized shells, usually between 20 and 30 mm, but in '' Nihonia maxima'' the length of shell can reach 128 mm. The shell of '' Aforia magnifica'' even reaches 150 mm. The shell is turriculated and fusiform with a long, sharp

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

. Axial

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

is absent or feebly developed. The

aperture In optics, the aperture of an optical system (including a system consisting of a single lens) is the hole or opening that primarily limits light propagated through the system. More specifically, the entrance pupil as the front side image o ...

is ovate. The columellar margin is smoot. The outer lip has a narrow profound anal sinus on the subsutural ramp. The open

siphonal canal The siphonal canal is an anatomical feature of the shells of certain groups of sea snails within the clade Neogastropoda. Some sea marine gastropods have a soft tubular anterior extension of the mantle called a siphon through which water i ...

is long, narrow, and straight. The operculum has a terminal nucleus. The foot of the animal is truncated anteriorly, obtuse posteriorly. The eyes are located externally near the base of cylindrical tentacles. The

radula The radula (; : radulae or radulas) is an anatomical structure used by mollusks for feeding, sometimes compared to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food enters ...

formula is 1-0-R-0-1 The duplex radular teeth are nonhypodermic.

Genera

* '' Abyssaforia'' Sysoev & Kantor, 1987 : type species: '' Aforia abyssalis'' Sysoev & Kantor, 1987 * ''

Aforia ''Aforia'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family (biology), family Cochlespiridae. Description The shell resembles ''Irenosyrinx'', but with stronger Sculpture (mollusc), sculpture with narrow, low ribs and with a pa ...

'' Dall, 1889 * '' Ancistrosyrinx'' Dall, 1881 * '' Apiotoma'' Cossmann, 1889 * '' Clavosurcula'' Schepman, 1913 * ''

Cochlespira ''Cochlespira'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family (biology), family Cochlespiridae. Description The species in this genus are characterized by their elongated fusiform spire and a long siphonal canal. The whorls s ...

'' Conrad, 1865 * '' Comispira'' Kantor, Fedosov & Puillandre, 2018 * '' Dallaforia'' Sysoev & Kantor, 1987 * '' Nihonia'' McNeil, 1961 * † '' Pseudocochlespira'' Schnetler, 2001 * '' Sibogasyrinx'' Powell, 1969 ;Genera brought into synonymy: * ''Coronasyrinx'' Powell, 1944: synonym of ''Cochlespira'' Conrad, 1865 * ''Danilacarina'' Bozzetti, 1997: synonym of ''Aforia'' Dall, 1889 * ''Irenosyrinx'' Dall, 1908: synonym of ''Aforia'' Dall, 1889 * ''Pagodasyrinx'' Shuto, 1969: synonym of ''Cochlespira'' Conrad, 1865 * ''Steiraxis'' Dall, 1896: synonym of ''

'' Dall, 1889 * ''Tahusyrinx'' Powell, 1942 : synonym of ''Cochlespira'' Conrad, 1865

References

* Sysoev, A. V., and Yu I. Kantor. "Deep-sea gastropods of the genus Aforia (Turridae) of the Pacific species composition, systematics, and functional morphology of the digestive system." The Veliger 30.2 (1987): 105-121.

External links

Worldwide Mollusk Species Data Base: family Cochlespiridae
{{Taxonbar, from=Q16980857 Conoidea