Turbinellinae are a

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 large deepwater

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 in the family Turbinellidae.Bouchet, P. (2011). Turbinellinae. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=23135 on 2011-04-27 This subfamily is in the family Turbinellidae within the clade Neogastropoda (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005). This is a small subfamily with only three genera and some 10 extant species described.

Distribution

Species of this subfamily can be found in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

and in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

. The species ''

Syrinx aruanus ''Syrinx aruanus'', common name the Australian trumpet or false trumpet, is a species of extremely large sea snail measuring up to 75 cm long and weighing up to 18 kg. It is a marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusk in the family Turb ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1758), the largest living gastropod, is distributed along the coasts of Western and Northern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

Description

Species in this family have thick-shelled, fusiform shells with conical-shaped whorls. The large

body whorl The body whorl is part of the morphology (biology), morphology of the gastropod shell, shell in those gastropod mollusks that possess a coiled shell. The term is also sometimes used in a similar way to describe the shell of a cephalopod mollusk ...

ends in a long siphonal canal. 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 ...

contains three to four plaits.

Genera and species

Genera in the subfamily Turbinellinae include : * '' Cryptofusus'' Beu, 2011 * ''

Syrinx In classical Greek mythology, Syrinx () was an Arcadian nymph and a follower of Artemis, known for her chastity. Being pursued by Pan, she fled into the river Ladon, and at her own request was metamorphosed into a reed from which Pan then mad ...

'' Röding, 1798 * '' Turbinella'' Lamarck, 1799 ;Genus brought into synonymy : * ''Buccinella'' Perry, 1811 : synonym of ''Turbinella'' Lamarck, 1799

References

* Vaught, K.C. (1989). ''A classification of the living Mollusca''. American Malacologists: Melbourne, FL (USA). . XII, 195 pp. {{Taxonbar, from=Q7853770 Turbinellidae