Odostomiinae, ''Odostomia'' snails and their allies, 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 ...

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

of minute

parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The ent ...

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. These are 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 ...

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

s, or

micromollusk 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 family

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 ...

Taxonomy

The subfamily Odostomiinae has been recognized as

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

. It includes the tribe Liostomini, a name given to those genera which have an intorted

protoconch A protoconch (meaning first or earliest or original shell) is an embryonic or larval shell which occurs in some classes of molluscs, e.g., the initial chamber of an ammonite or the larval shell of a gastropod. In older texts it is also called " ...

. The rest of the genera however do not form a single

taxon. Subfamily Odostomiinae has been classified as one of eleven recognised subfamilies of the very voluminous

family

(according to the taxonomy of Ponder & Lindberg 1997): Odostomiinae, Turbonillinae, Chrysallidinae,

Cingulininae Cingulinini is a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic Tribe (biology), tribe of very small sea snails, marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusks in the family Pyramidellidae, the pyrams and their allies. Taxonomy Cingulininae was first introduced by ...

, Cyclostremellinae, Sayellinae, Syrnolinae, Eulimellinae, Pyramidellinae, Odostomellinae and Tiberiinae. In the taxonomy of Bouchet & Rocroi (2005), this subfamily also comprises the subfamilies Chrysallidinae, Cyclostremellinae and Odostomellinae, that they have downgraded to the rank of

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

. subfamily Odostomiinae Pelseneer, 1928 *tribe Odostomiini Pelseneer, 1928 *tribe Chrysallidini Saurin, 1958 - formerly subfamily Chrysallidinae *tribe Cyclostremellini D.R. Moore, 1966 - formerly subfamily Cyclostremellinae *tribe Odostomellini Saurin, 1959 - formerly subfamily Odostomellinae According to Schander, Van Aartsen and Corgan (1999) there are 33 genera in Odostominae with four possible additional genera of uncertain status.

Genera

Genera in the subfamily Odostomiinae include: tribe Odostomiini * ''

Odostomia ''Odostomia'' is the most speciose genus of minute sea snails, pyramidellid gastropod mollusks. This genus is placed in the family Pyramidellidae in the subfamily Odostomiinae. There are several hundred species in this diverse genus ( Schander ...

'' Fleming, 1813 - type genus * '' Aartsenia'' Warén, 1991 * '' Auristomia'' Monterosato, 1884 * ''

Boonea ''Boonea'' is a small genus of small sea snails, Pyramidellidae, pyramidellid gastropod mollusks.Bouchet, P. (2011). Boonea Robertson, 1978. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails ...

'' * '' Brachystomia'' Monterosato, 1884 * '' Colpostomia'' Cossmann, 1921 * '' Creanatodostomia'' Nomura, 1937 * '' Cyclodostomia'' Sacco, 1892 * '' Doliella'' Monterosato, 1880 * '' Eulimastoma'' Bartsch, 1916 * '' Eustomia'' Cossmann, 1921 * '' Evalea'' A. Adams, 1860 * '' Gumina''

Finlay Finlay is a masculine given name, and also a surname. The given name is represented in Scottish Gaelic as Fionnlagh. Given name Finlay *Finlay Calder, Scottish rugby player * Finlay Christie (comedian), British comedian * Finlay Christie, Scottis ...

, 1928 * '' Heida'' Dall,l, 1903 * '' Jordaniella'' Chaster, 1898 * '' Kunopia'' Laseron, 1959 * '' Liostomia'' G. O. Sars, 1878 * '' Macrodostomia'' Sacco, 1892 * '' Marginodostomia'' Nomura, 1936possible synonyme of Cyclodostomia fide Saurin (1958:64) * '' Megastomia'' Monterosato, 1884 * '' Nesiodostomia'' Pilsbry, 1918 * '' Nisostomia'' Cossmann, 1921 * '' Noemiamea'' De Folin in Hoyle, 1886- have been shown to be a part of Odostomia sensu stricta by Schander and co-workers (2003) * '' Obexomia'' Laws, 1941 * ''

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'' De Folin, 1870 * '' Ondina'' De Folin, 1870 * '' Pyramistomia'' Cossmann, 1921 * '' Sinuatodostomia'' Nomura, 1937 * '' Sinustomia'' Cossmann, 1921 * '' Striodostomia'' Laws, 1940 * '' Turridostomia'' Habe, 1961 * '' Villia'' Dall, & Bartsch, 1904 * '' Volutaxiella'' Strebel, 1908 tribe Chrysallidini tribe Cyclostremellini tribe Odostomellini

Additional genera

Some additional genera which may belong in the subfamily Odostomiinae are: * '' Angustispira'' Pelseneer, 1912 * '' Helodiamea'' Peñas & Rolán, 2017 * '' Myxa'' Hedley, 1903 * '' Pseudorissoina'' Tate & May, 1900 * '' Ugartea'' Bartsch, 1917

Distribution

This family is found worldwide, from the tropics to the poles.

Shell description

The shell of these snails has a blunt, heterostrophic

, which is often pointed sideways or wrapped up. Most species in the subfamily have shells which are smaller than 13 mm. The texture of these shells is most often smooth but sometimes

sculptured Sculptured is an American experimental and progressive heavy metal music, metal band, mixing melodic and atonal segments. History Following the dissolution of his previous band, guitarist Don Anderson began Sculptured as mostly a one-man proje ...

in various forms such as ribs and spirals. Their color is mostly white, cream or yellowish, sometimes with red or brown lines. The

teleoconch The gastropod shell is part of the body of many gastropods, including snails, a kind of mollusc. The shell is an exoskeleton, which protects from predators, mechanical damage, and dehydration, but also serves for muscle attachment and calcium ...

is dextrally coiled, but the

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

l shells are

sinistral Sinistral and dextral, in some scientific fields, are the two types of chirality ("handedness") or relative direction. The terms are derived from the Latin words for "left" (''sinister'') and "right" (''dexter''). Other disciplines use different ...

. This results in a sinistrally coiled protoconch. The

columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (, Arabic: ) was a prominent Roman writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture and ancient Roman cuisin ...

has usually one, but sometimes several, spiral folds. 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 closed by an operculum.

Life habits

The Odostomiinae are

ectoparasite Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted str ...

s, feeding mainly on other molluscs and on annelid

worm Worms are many different distantly related bilateria, bilateral animals that typically have a long cylindrical tube-like body, no limb (anatomy), limbs, and usually no eyes. Worms vary in size from microscopic to over in length for marine ...

s, but some are known to feed on peanut worms and

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

s. They do not have a

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 ...

. Instead their long

proboscis A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular arthropod mouthparts, mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a pr ...

is used to pierce the skin of its prey and suck up its fluids and soft tissues. The eyes on the grooved tentacles are situated toward the base of the tentacles. Between the head and the foot, a lobed process called the

mentum The term mentum can refer to several anatomical structures near the mouth of an animal: *The median plate of an insect's labium. *The protruding part of the human chin. *A certain thin projection of the soft parts of the animal, below the mouth, i ...

( = thin projection) is visible. These molluscs are

hermaphrodite A hermaphrodite () is a sexually reproducing organism that produces both male and female gametes. Animal species in which individuals are either male or female are gonochoric, which is the opposite of hermaphroditic. The individuals of many ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7078325 Pyramidellidae Protostome subfamilies