Spiraxidae is a

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 ...

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 ...

air-breathing

land snail A land snail is any of the numerous species of snail that live on land, as opposed to the sea snails and freshwater snails. ''Land snail'' is the common name for terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial gastropod mollusks that have gastropod shell, shel ...

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth, as opposed to extraterrestrial. 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 o ...

pulmonate Pulmonata or pulmonates is an informal group (previously an order, and before that, a subclass) of snails and slugs characterized by the ability to breathe air, by virtue of having a pallial lung instead of a gill, or gills. The group inclu ...

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 Testacelloidea (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005).

Distribution

The distribution of this family is

Neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeogra ...

Taxonomy

2005 taxonomy

The family Spiraxidae is classified within 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 ...

, itself belonging to the

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

Stylommatophora Stylommatophora is an orderPhilippe Bouchet, Jean-Pierre Rocroi, Bernhard Hausdorf, Andrzej Kaim, Yasunori Kano, Alexander Nützel, Pavel Parkhaev, Michael Schrödl and Ellen E. Strong. 2017. Revised Classification, Nomenclator and Typification of ...

within the clade

Eupulmonata Eupulmonata is a taxonomic clade of air-breathing gastropod molluscs. The great majority of this group are land snails and slugs, but some are intertidal or inhabit coastal saltmarshes and mangroves. Possible synapomorphy of the group are gl ...

(according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005). The family Spiraxidae consists of the following subfamilies: * Spiraxinae H. B. Baker, 1939 * Micromeninae Schileyko, 2000

2010 taxonomy

Thompson (2010)
PDF
. redefined subfamilies in the Spiraxidae, moving Euglandininae and Streptostylinae to become subfamilies of Spiraxidae. According to their work, there are three subfamilies within the Spiraxidae: * Spiraxinae H. B. Baker, 1939 - including ''Micromena'' * Euglandininae H. B. Baker, 1941 * Streptostylinae H. B. Baker, 1941 Apparently this system of classification is not universally accepted, as

Fauna Europaea Fauna Europaea is a database of the scientific names and distribution of all living multicellular European land and fresh-water animals. It serves as a standard taxonomic source for animal taxonomy within the Pan-European Species directories Infr ...

uses different systematics for the subfamily Euglandininae, still placing it within the family Oleacinidae."''Poiretia'' P. Fischer 1883"

, accessed 17 January 2011.

Genera

Genera in the family Spiraxidae include: Subfamily Spiraxinae include seven genera: * ''

Mayaxis ''Mayaxis'' is a genus of predatory air-breathing land snails, terrestrial animal, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Spiraxidae.PDF. References

Spiraxidae {{Spiraxidae-stub ...

'' Thompson, 1995 * ''

Micromena ''Micromena'' is a genus of predatory air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Spiraxidae Spiraxidae is a family (biology), family of predatory air-breathing land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestri ...

'' H. B. Baker, 1939 - this was the type genus of the subfamily Micromeninae * ''

Miraradula ''Miraradula'' is a genus of predatory air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Spiraxidae Spiraxidae is a family (biology), family of predatory air-breathing land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestr ...

'' Baker, 1939 * ''

Pseudosubulina ''Pseudosubulina'' is a genus of predatory air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Spiraxidae Spiraxidae is a family (biology), family of predatory air-breathing land snails, terrestrial molluscs, ter ...

'' Strebel & Pfeffer, 1882 * ''

Rectaxis ''Rectaxis'' is a genus of predatory air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Spiraxidae. Distribution The distribution of the genus ''Rectaxis'' is an area that reaches from Venezuela to Mexico ...

'' Baker, 1926 * ''

Spiraxis ''Spiraxis'' is a genus of predatory air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Spiraxidae.

'' C. B. Adams, 1850 - type genus of family Spiraxidae * ''

Volutaxis ''Volutaxis'' is a genus of predatory air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Spiraxidae. Distribution The distribution of the genus ''Volutaxis'' includes Mexico, Central America, and the Greater Anti ...

'' Strebel & Pfeffer, 1882 Subfamily Euglandininae * ''

Euglandina ''Euglandina'' is a genus of predatory medium- to large-sized, air-breathing, land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Spiraxidae.PDF. These snails were previously placed in the family Oleacinidae (according to the t ...

'' Crosse & P. Fischer, 1870 - type genus of the subfamily Euglandininae * '' Guillarmodia'' H. B. Baker, 1941Thompson F. G. (16 June 2008)
"AN ANNOTATED CHECKLIST AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE LAND AND FRESHWATER SNAILS OF MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA"
accessed 14 January 2011. * '' Pittieria'' von Martens, 1901 * '' Poiretia'' Fischer, 1883 * '' Varicoglandina'' Pilsbry, 1908 * '' Varicoturris'' Pilsbry, 1907 Subfamily Streptostylinae * ''

Myxastyla ''Myxastyla'' is a genus of predatory air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Spiraxidae Spiraxidae is a family (biology), family of predatory air-breathing land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestri ...

'' Thompson, 1995 * ''

Oryzosoma ''Oryzosoma'' is a genus of predatory air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Spiraxidae Spiraxidae is a family (biology), family of predatory air-breathing land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestri ...

'' Pilsbry, 1891 * ''

Salasiella ''Salasiella'' is a genus of predatory air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Spiraxidae Spiraxidae is a family (biology), family of predatory air-breathing land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestr ...

'' Strebel, 1877 * '' Strebelia'' Crosse & Fischer, 1868 * '' Streptostyla'' Shuttleworth, 1852 - type genus of the subfamily Streptostylinae

Ecology

These land snails are

carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose nutrition and energy requirements are met by consumption of animal tissues (mainly mu ...

and

References

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