The Melongenidae, the
crown conchs and their relatives, are a
taxonomic 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 large to very large
marine 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 ...
s in the superfamily
Buccinoidea.
[MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Melongenidae Gill, 1871 (1854). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=160182 on 2021-02-27]
Taxonomy
For a while prior to 2004, the genera ''
Busycon'' and ''
Busycotypus'' were placed in the Melongenidae.
Then, in 2004, based on their
digestive system
The human digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract plus the accessory organs of digestion (the tongue, salivary glands, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder). Digestion involves the breakdown of food into smaller and smaller compone ...
s and on
cladistic analysis by Kosyan & Kantor (2004),
[Kosyan A. R. & Kantor Yu. I. (2004). "Morphology, taxonomic status and relationships of Melongenidae (Gastropoda: Neogastropoda)". ''Ruthenica'' 14(1): 9-36]
abstract and preview
/ref> these two genera were moved to the family Busyconidae within the superfamily Buccinoidea.
According to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi (2005), the Melongenidae consists of two subfamilies:
* Subfamily Melongeninae Gill, 1871 (1854) - synonyms: Cassidulidae Gray, 1854 (inv.); Galeodidae Thiele, 1925 (inv.); Volemidae Winckworth, 1945; Heligmotomidae Adegoke, 1977
* Subfamily Echinofulgurinae Petuch, 1994
Genera
Genera in the family Melongenidae include:
References
{{Melongenidae-stub