Punctidae,
common name
In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contra ...
the "dot snails" or "pinhead snails", is a
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
of minute air-breathing
land snails,
terrestrial
Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth.
Terrestrial may also refer to:
* Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...
pulmonate gastropod mollusk
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is es ...
s or
micromollusk
A micromollusk is a shelled mollusk which is extremely small, even at full adult size. The word is usually, but not exclusively, applied to marine mollusks, although in addition, numerous species of land snails and freshwater mollusks also ...
s in the informal group
Sigmurethra
Sigmurethra is a taxonomic category of air-breathing land snails and slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. This is an informal group which includes most land snails and slugs.
The two strong synapomorphies of Sigmurethra are a long p ...
(according to the
taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005).
Genera
The family Punctidae has no subfamilies (according to the
taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005).
The family Punctidae includes the following genera:
* ''
Allenella''
Iredale, 1944
* ''
Charopinesta''
Iredale, 1944
* ''
Dignamoconcha''
Iredale, 1944
* ''
Goweriana''
Shea & Griffiths, 2010
* ''
Paralaoma''
Iredale, 1913
* ''
Pernastela''
Iredale, 1944
* ''
Phrixgnathus''
Hutton, 1882
* ''
Punctum
Punctum, plural puncta, adjective punctate, is an anatomical term for a sharp point or tip. It may also refer to:
Medical
*Lacrimal punctum, a minute opening on the margins of the eyelids that collect tears produced by the lacrimal glands
*Blin ...
''
Morse, 1864
* ''
Semilaoma
''Semilaoma'' is a genus of three pinhead or dot snail species that are endemic to Australia's Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea (Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated betwee ...
''
Iredale, 1944
* and others
References
External links
{{Punctidae-stub