Turritellidae,

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 contrast ...

the "tower shells" or "tower snails", is a

taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

family of small to medium-sized

sea snail Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

mollusc 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 esti ...

s in the

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

Sorbeoconcha Sorbeoconcha is a taxonomic clade of snails, i.e. gastropods, mainly marine species with gills and opercula, within the clade Caenogastropoda. The taxon Sorbeoconcha was named by Winston Ponder and David R. Lindberg in 1997. Taxonomy 1997 taxo ...

. These snails are

filter feeder Filter feeders are a sub-group of suspension feeding animals that feed by straining suspended matter and food particles from water, typically by passing the water over a specialized filtering structure. Some animals that use this method of feedin ...

s. This method of feeding is somewhat unusual among gastropod mollusks, but is very common in

bivalves Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...

Shell description

The shells of turritellid species have whorls that are more convex and an aperture which is more circular than it is in the auger shells which are similarly high-spired. The columella is curved and the thin operculum is horny.

Anatomy of the soft parts

These snails burrow into mud or sand. The foot is relatively small. Seashell1

Turritella shells in Vienna Natural History Museum - IZE-2290b

Taxonomy

The following five

subfamilies 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 subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

were recognized in the taxonomy of Bouchet & Rocroi (2005): * Turritellinae Lovén, 1847 - synonyms: Zariinae Gray, 1850; Zeacolpini Marwick, 1971; Archimediellidae Starobogatov, 1982; Tachyrhynchinae Golikov, 1986 *Orectospirinae Habe, 1955 *Pareorinae Finlay & Marwick, 1937 *Protominae

Marwick Marwick is a Scottish surname, that may refer to: *Arthur Marwick (1936–2006), Scottish historian *Ernest Marwick (1915–1977), Scottish writer *Hugh Marwick (1885–1965), Scottish scholar *James Marwick (born 1862), founder of accountancy pr ...

, 1957 *Vermiculariinae Dall, 1913 - synonym: Pseudomesaliidae mahmoud, 1955 (inv.)

Genera

Genera within the family Turritellidae include: ;Turritellinae * '' Archimediella'' Sacco, 1895 * '' Banzarecolpus'' Powell, 1957 * '' Colpospira'' Donald, 1900 * '' Gazameda'' Iredale, 1924 * '' Glyptozaria'' Iredale, 1924 * ''

Incatella ''Incatella'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Turritellidae Turritellidae, common name the "tower shells" or "tower snails", is a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod m ...

'' DeVries, 2007 * ''

Maoricolpus ''Maoricolpus'', common name the "New Zealand screw shells", is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Turritellidae, the Turritella snails.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Maoricolpus Finlay, 1926. Accessed through ...

'' Finlay, 1927 * ''

Spirocolpus ''Spirocolpus'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Turritellidae Turritellidae, common name the "tower shells" or "tower snails", is a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod ...

'' Finlay, 1927 * ''

Stiracolpus ''Stiracolpus'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Turritellidae.Vos, C.; Bouchet, P. (2014). Stiracolpus Finlay, 1926. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p ...

'' Finlay, 1926 * ''

Tachyrhynchus ''Tachyrhynchus'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Turritellidae. Species Species within the genus ''Tachyrhynchus'' include: * ''Tachyrhynchus erosus ''Tachyrhynchus erosus'', common name the eroded turre ...

'' Mörch, 1868 * '' Turritella'' Lamarck, 1799 - the type genus of the family, synonyms: ''Torcula'' Gray, 1847; ''Proto'' Blainville, 1824 ** subgenus ''

Haustator ''Turritella'' is a genus of medium-sized sea snails with an operculum, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Turritellidae.Vos, C.; Gofas, S. (2013). Turritella Lamarck, 1799. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.m ...

'' Montfort, 1810Harzhauser M. (2007). "Oligocene and Aquitanian gastropod faunas from the Sultanate of Oman and their biogeographic implications for the western Indo-Pacific". ''

Palaeontographica Abteilung External linksSerials list
@ schweizerbart.de E. Schweizerbart academic journals, * Lists of academic journals by publisher, E. Schweizerbart ...

'' A 280: 75-121
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* ''

Zeacolpus ''Zeacolpus'' is a genus of medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Turritellidae, known as the turritellas or tower shells.Vos, C. (2010). Zeacolpus Finlay, 1927. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World M ...

'' Finlay, 1927 * '' Zaria'' Gray, 1842: synonym of ''Turritella'' Lamarck, 1799 ;Orectospirinae * ''

Orectospira ''Orectospira'' is a genus of sea snails, marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusks in the family (biology), family Turritellidae. Species Species within the genus ''Orectospira'' include: * ''Orectospira babelica'' (Dall, 1907) * ''Orectospir ...

'' Dall, 1925 ;Pareorinae * † '' Batillona'' Finlay, 1927 * '' Pareora'' Marwick, 1931 ;Protominae * ''

Protoma ''Protoma'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Turritellidae. Species Extant species within the genus ''Protoma'' include: * '' Protoma knockeri'' Baird, 1870 ; Species brought into synonymy: * ''Protoma capensis' ...

'' Baird, 1870 -( synonym: ''Protomella'' Thiele, 1929) ;Vermiculariinae * '' Callostracum'' E. A. Smith, 1909 * ''

Vermicularia ''Vermicularia'' is a genus of sea snails, marine (ocean), marine gastropod molluscs in the family (biology), family Turritellidae. Species Species within the genus ''Vermicularia'' include: * ''Vermicularia bathyalis'' Petuch, 2002 * ''Vermicul ...

'' Lamarck, 1799 family ? * '' Armatus'' Golikov, 1986 * † '' Colposigma'' Finlay & Marwick, 1937 * ''

Mesalia ''Mesalia'' is a genus of sea snails, marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusks in the family (biology), family Turritellidae. Species Species within the genus ''Mesalia'' include: * ''Mesalia brevialis'' (Lamarck, 1822) * ''Mesalia flammife ...

'' Gray, 1847 * ''

Neohaustator ''Neohaustator'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Turritellidae. Species Species within the genus ''Neohaustator'' include: * ''Neohaustator andenensis'' (Otuka, 1934) * ''Neohaustator fortilirata ''Neohau ...

'' Ida, 1952 * † '' Palmerella'' Allmon 1996Halder, K., & Sinha, P. (2014). "Some Eocene Cerithioids (Gastropoda, Mollusca) from Kutch, Western India, and Their Bearing on Palaeobiogeography of the Indian Subcontinent". ''Paleontology Journal'', 2014, Article ID 673469, . * † '' Tropicolpus'' Marwick, 1931

Palaeontological locations

* The

Turritellenplatte The Turritellenplatte of Ermingen ("Erminger Turritellenplatte" near Ulm, Germany) is a type of very rich, fossil-bearing rock which is of particular interest to geologists and paleontologists. It occurs in a very restricted outcrop and is prote ...

of Ermingen ("Erminger Turritellenplatte" near Ulm, Germany) is situated in the northern part of the North Alpine Foreland Basin (NAFB) and is famous for its abundance of '' Turritella turris''

shells within

sedimentary deposit Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...

s. The fauna of this gastropod-rich sandstone reflects mainly near-coastal and shallow marine conditions. Petrographical and palaeontological data allow a correlation of ''Turritellenplatte'' of Ermingen with Burdigalian (Lower Miocene). Sr-isotope composition of shark teeth suggests an age of about 18,5 Ma for the ''Turritellenplatte'' of Ermingen.Baier J. (2008). "Ein Beitrag zur Erminger Turritellenplatte (Mittlere Schwäbische Alb, SW-Deutschland)". ''Jahresbericht Mitt. oberrhein. geol. Ver.'', N.F. 90: 9-17. Stuttgart, .

References

External links

*
Selachian fauna of Turritellenplatte
Abstract of Baier et al. 2004

Abstract of Baier 2008

Miocene Gastropods and Biostratigraphy of the Kern River Area, California; United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 642
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2461107 Gastropod families