Cochlespiridae 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 Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

of predatory

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 ...

s, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily

Conoidea Conoidea is a superfamily of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks within the suborder Hypsogastropoda. This superfamily is a very large group of marine mollusks, estimated at about 340 recent valid genera and subgenera, and considered ...

. This family is not well differentiated morphologically, and there is poor congruence between the molecular and shell characters. Its limits are uncertain. Even the contents of most of the genera are in need of revision. The family is composed of some genera that used to belong to the subfamily

Cochlespirinae Cochlespirinae was a subfamily of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks, belonging to the family Turridae, commonly named turrids. It has been raised to the rank of family Cochlespiridae Powell, 1942 Genera Genera in the subf ...

, in the family

Turridae Turridae is a taxonomic family name for a number of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea. MolluscaBase (2018). Turridae H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853 (1838). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Specie ...

. This family has no subfamilies.

General characteristics

This family consists of moderately sized shells, usually between 20 and 30 mm, but in '' Nihonia maxima'' the length of shell can reach 128 mm. The shell of ''

Aforia magnifica ''Aforia magnifica'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cochlespiridae. Description The size of an adult shell varies between 40 mm and 150 mm. The radula has a large-based unicuspid central tooth. ...

'' even reaches 150 mm. The shell is turriculated and fusiform with a long, sharp

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. Spires are ...

. Axial

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

is absent or feebly developed. The

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An opt ...

is ovate. The columellar margin is smoot. The outer lip has a narrow profound anal sinus on the subsutural ramp. The open

siphonal canal The siphonal canal is an anatomical feature of the shells of certain groups of sea snails within the clade Neogastropoda. Some sea marine gastropods have a soft tubular anterior extension of the mantle called a siphon through which water is ...

is long, narrow, and straight. The operculum has a terminal nucleus. The foot of the animal is truncated anteriorly, obtuse posteriorly. The eyes are located externally near the base of cylindrical tentacles. The

radula The radula (, ; plural radulae or radulas) is an anatomical structure used by molluscs for feeding, sometimes compared to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food ...

formula is 1-0-R-0-1 The duplex radular teeth are nonhypodermic.

Genera

* '' Abyssaforia'' Sysoev & Kantor, 1987 : type species: ''

Aforia abyssalis ''Aforia abyssalis'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cochlespiridae. This species is also considered the type species of '' Abyssaforia'' Sysoev & Kantor, 1987 Description Distribution This marine specie ...

'' Sysoev & Kantor, 1987 * ''

Aforia ''Aforia'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Cochlespiridae. Description The shell resembles '' Irenosyrinx'', but with stronger sculpture and with a paucispiral operculum, bearing such a relation to the normal ...

'' Dall, 1889 * '' Ancistrosyrinx'' Dall, 1881 * ''

Apiotoma ''Apiotoma'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Cochlespiridae Cochlespiridae is a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic family (biology), family of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Co ...

'' Cossmann, 1889 * ''

Clavosurcula ''Clavosurcula'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Cochlespiridae Cochlespiridae is a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic family (biology), family of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamil ...

'' Schepman, 1913 * ''

Cochlespira ''Cochlespira'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Cochlespiridae. Description The species in this genus are characterized by their elongated fusiform spire and a long siphonal canal. The whorls show on their edge ...

'' Conrad, 1865 * ''

Comispira ''Comispira'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Cochlespiridae Cochlespiridae is a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic family (biology), family of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily ...

'' Kantor, Fedosov & Puillandre, 2018 * ''

Dallaforia ''Dallaforia'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Cochlespiridae Cochlespiridae is a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic family (biology), family of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily ...

'' Sysoev & Kantor, 1987 * ''

Nihonia ''Nihonia'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Cochlespiridae. Species Species within the genus ''Nihonia'' include: * '' Nihonia australis'' (Roissy, 1805) * '' Nihonia circumstricta'' (Martens, 1901) * '' Nihon ...

'' McNeil, 1961 * † ''

Pseudocochlespira ''Pseudocochlespira'' is a genus of extinct sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Cochlespiridae. They were small to medium-sized, pagodiform in shape having a conical protoconch with 3.5 to 4.75 whorls. The genus is only known f ...

'' Schnetler, 2001 * ''

Sibogasyrinx ''Sibogasyrinx'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Cochlespiridae Cochlespiridae is a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic family (biology), family of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamil ...

'' Powell, 1969 ;Genera brought into synonymy: * ''Coronasyrinx'' Powell, 1944: synonym of ''Cochlespira'' Conrad, 1865 * ''Danilacarina'' Bozzetti, 1997: synonym of ''Aforia'' Dall, 1889 * ''Irenosyrinx'' Dall, 1908: synonym of ''Aforia'' Dall, 1889 * ''Pagodasyrinx'' Shuto, 1969: synonym of ''Cochlespira'' Conrad, 1865 * ''Steiraxis'' Dall, 1896: synonym of ''

'' Dall, 1889 * ''Tahusyrinx'' Powell, 1942 : synonym of ''Cochlespira'' Conrad, 1865

References

* Sysoev, A. V., and Yu I. Kantor. "Deep-sea gastropods of the genus Aforia (Turridae) of the Pacific species composition, systematics, and functional morphology of the digestive system." The Veliger 30.2 (1987): 105-121.

External links

Worldwide Mollusk Species Data Base: family Cochlespiridae
{{Taxonbar, from=Q16980857 Conoidea