''Persiculinae'' 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 to small

predatory Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...

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 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. This subfamily includes several species which are

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 ...

Taxonomy

The subfamily is sometimes placed in the family

Cystiscidae Cystiscidae is a taxonomic family of small sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks or micromollusks. Description The shell is minute to large, either white, uniformly colored, or patterned; the surface is smooth, sculptured, or axially costat ...

, and is sometimes instead left in the family

Marginellidae Marginellidae, or the margin shells, are a taxonomic family of small, often colorful, sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Neogastropoda. Taxonomy The higher classification of the family Marginellidae has long been in a state o ...

the margin snails. It is within the clade

Neogastropoda Neogastropoda is an order of aquatic snails, both freshwater and marine gastropod molluscs. Description The available fossil record of Neogastropoda is relatively complete, and supports a widely accepted evolutionary scenario of an Early Cre ...

. (Note: Gastropod

taxonomy image:Hierarchical clustering diagram.png, 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 o ...

has been in flux for more than half a century, and this is especially true currently, because of new research in

molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, ...

phylogeny A phylogenetic tree or phylogeny is a graphical representation which shows the evolutionary history between a set of species or Taxon, taxa during a specific time.Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, M ...

. Because of all the ongoing changes, different reliable sources can yield very different classifications.) In 2019 this subfamily has been classified as a synonym of the subfamily Cystiscinae Stimpson, 1865

Shell description

The

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

minute to large, white, uniformly colored, or patterned;

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 ...

immersed or low to tall; lip thickened, smooth or lirate; external varix present or absent; siphonal notch present or absent; weak to distinct posterior notch present; columella multiplicate with combined total of 3 to 13 plications plus parietal lirae; internal

whorl A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). In nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral diagra ...

s cystiscid type.

Description of soft parts

Animal with short to long

tentacle In zoology, a tentacle is a flexible, mobile, and elongated organ present in some species of animals, most of them invertebrates. In animal anatomy, tentacles usually occur in one or more pairs. Anatomically, the tentacles of animals work main ...

s, rarely absent; siphon short to long; eyes situated laterally on head slightly below the base of the tentacles; mantle usually not extending over external shell surface.

Internal anatomy

Odontophoral cartilages separate; valve of Leiblein present, with or without bypass tube; esophageal caecum absent; gland of Leiblein short, small, emptying directly into posterior end of esophagus; paired salivary glands or tubular, attached to esophagus just anterior to the valve of Leiblein, ducts attached to walls of esophagus; single accessory salivary gland present, or tubular, anal gland absent.

Genera

* ''

Persicula ''Persicula'' is a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic genus of minute to small predatory sea snails, marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusks. It includes several species which are micromollusks.Persicula Schumacher, 1817. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. ...

'' Schumacher, 1817 * ''

Gibberula ''Gibberula'' is a genus of minute sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Cystiscidae, previously placed in the family Marginellidae, the margin shells or marginellids. (Note: Gastropod taxonomy has been in flux for ...

'' Swainson, 1840 * '' Canalispira'' Jousseaume, 1875 * '' Pachybathron'' Gaskoin, 1853 ;Genera brought into synonymy: * ''Baroginella'' Laseron, 1957: synonym of ''Canalispira'' Jousseaume, 1875 * ''Diluculum'' Barnard, 1962: synonym of ''Gibberula'' Swainson, 1840 * ''Epiginella'' Laseron, 1957: synonym of ''Gibberula'' Swainson, 1840 * ''Granula'' Jousseaume, 1875: synonym of ''Gibberula'' Swainson, 1840 * ''Kogomea'' Habe, 1951: synonym of ''Gibberula'' Swainson, 1840 * ''Microcassis'' Paulmier, 1997: synonym of ''Pachybathron'' Gaskoin, 1853 * ''Osvaldoginella'' Espinosa & Ortea, 1997: synonym of ''Canalispira'' Jousseaume, 1875 * ''Phyloginella'' Laseron, 1957: synonym of ''Gibberula'' Swainson, 1840

Comparative shell anatomy of three genera within this subfamily

Image:Persicula.jpg, Image:Gibberula.jpg, Image:Canalispira.jpg,

References

* Coovert G.A. & Coovert H.K. (1995) ''Revision of the supraspecific classification of marginelliform gastropods''. The Nautilus 109(2-3): 43–110. page(s): 70 {{Taxonbar, from=Q7170315 Cystiscidae