The Drilliidae are 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 small 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 with high-spired shells. They are classified as

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 ...

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 e ...

s in the superfamily Conoidea. This family has no subfamilies. It consists of about 30 genera and approximately 500

Recent The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene together ...

species.

Description

The shell is claviform with a tall spire, or squatly conical to biconical. In many species, the

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 truncated. 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 U-shaped with a parietal callus pad. The sculpture of the shell shows prominent axial ribs with a polished surface. Most species have a dorsal

varix A varix (pl. varices) is an abnormally dilated vessel with a tortuous course. Varices usually occur in the venous system, but may also occur in arterial or lymphatic vessels. Examples of varices include: * Varicose veins, large tortuous veins usua ...

(transverse elevation), except in the genera '' Cymatosyrinx'', '' Elaeocyma'' and '' Splendrillia''. The

protoconch A protoconch (meaning first or earliest or original shell) is an embryonic or larval shell which occurs in some classes of molluscs, e.g., the initial chamber of an ammonite or the larval shell of a gastropod. In older texts it is also called ...

can be smooth or very carinate. The ovate operculum has a terminal nucleus. Chen-Kwoh Chang, ''Small Turrids of Taiwan, Chapter 3 , History and Taxonomy of the Clavidae; June 1, 2001
/ref> 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 ...

of the species in this family have characteristically five teeth in each row (formula : 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1) with a vestigial central tooth, comb-like lateral teeth and a pair of flat-pointed, slender marginal teeth. The

foregut The foregut is the anterior part of the alimentary canal, from the mouth to the duodenum at the entrance of the bile duct. Beyond the stomach, the foregut is attached to the abdominal walls by mesentery. The foregut arises from the endoderm, deve ...

structure of the anterior alimentary system has the least derived foregut anatomy of all the families 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 ...

. Brian Morton, The Malacofauna of Hong Kong and southern China
/ref>

Distribution

This family has wide distribution, ranging from

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

to the

Antarctic Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-small ...

, found at intertidal to abyssal depths. This is reflected in the variability in larval shells and the size of the shell (from a few millimetres to 6 cm) and the characteristics of the

and the

teleoconch The gastropod shell is part of the body of a gastropod or snail, a kind of mollusc. The shell is an exoskeleton, which protects from predators, mechanical damage, and dehydration, but also serves for muscle attachment and calcium storage. Some ...

Taxonomic history

The genera in this family were originally separated from the subfamily Clavitulinae and classified by H.& A. Adams (1858) under subfamily Turritinae, because their operculum has a terminal instead of a central nucleus. In 1942, the species with a U-shaped sinus and a parietal callus pad were brought by Powell in the new subfamily Clavinae. In 1966, Morrison proposed the subfamily Drillinae (= Clavinae) for the species with a stenoglossan radula with comb-like lateral teeth. Finally, in 1993, Taylor ''et al.'' proposed the promotion of Drillinae from subfamily to the family level Drilliidae.Taylor, J.D., Kantor, Y.I& Sysoev, A.V.,1993 . ''Foregut anatomy, feeding mechanisms, relationships and classification of the Conoidea (=Toxoglossas) (Gastropoda)'' Bull. Nat. Hist. Mus. Lond .(Zool) 5(2): 125-170

Taxonomy

Genera in the family Drilliidae include:WoRMS (2010). Drilliidae. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=23032 on1 September 2011 * '' Acinodrillia'' Kilburn, 1988 * '' Agladrillia'' Woodring, 1928 * '' Bellaspira'' Conrad, 1868 * '' Calliclava'' McLean, 1971 * '' Cerodrillia'' Bartsch & Rehder, 1939 * ''

Clathrodrillia ''Clathrodrillia'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family (biology), family Drilliidae.Bouchet, P. (2014). Clathrodrillia Dall, 1918. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/ap ...

'' Dall, 1918 * ''

Clavus Clavus may refer to: * Claudius Clavus (born 1388), 15th-century Danish cartographer * ''Clavus'' (gastropod), a genus of snails in the family Drilliidae * The Roman ''clavus'', a reddish-purple stripe on garments that distinguished members of the ...

'' Montfort, 1810 * ''

Conopleura ''Conopleura'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Drilliidae The Drilliidae are a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic family (biology), family of small predatory sea snails with high-spired shells. They are classified ...

'' Hinds, 1844 * '' Crassopleura'' Monterosato, 1884 * '' Cruziturricula'' Marks, 1951 * '' Cymatosyrinx'' Dall, 1889 * '' Decoradrillia'' Fallon, 2016 * '' Douglassia'' Bartsch, 1934 * ''

Drillia ''Drillia'' is a genus of small sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Drilliidae. General characteristics The shell is turriculated, with an elevated spire, longitudinal ribs, and usually revolving striae. The spiral sculpture of t ...

'' Gray, 1838 * '' Elaeocyma'' Dall, 1918 * '' Eumetadrillia'' Woodring, 1928 * '' Fenimorea'' Bartsch, 1934 * '' Fusiturricula'' Woodring, 1928 * '' Globidrillia'' Woodring, 1928 * '' Hauturua'' Powell, 1942 * '' Imaclava'' Bartsch, 1944 * '' Iredalea'' Oliver, 1915 * ''

Kylix In the pottery of ancient Greece, a kylix ( , ; grc, κύλιξ, pl. κύλικες; also spelled cylix; pl.: kylikes , ) is the most common type of wine-drinking cup. It has a broad, relatively shallow, body raised on a stem from a foot ...

'' Dall, 1919 * '' Leptadrillia'' Woodring, 1928 * '' Lissodrillia'' Bartsch & Rehder, 1943 * '' Neodrillia'' Bartsch, 1943 * '' Orrmaesia'' Kilburn, 1988 * '' Paracuneus'' Laseron, 1954 * '' Plagiostropha'' Melvill, 1927 * † '' Pleurofusia'' de Gregorio, 1890 * ''

Sedilia In church architecture, sedilia (plural of Latin ''sedīle'', "seat") are seats, usually made of stone, found on the liturgical south side of an altar, often in the chancel, for use during Mass for the officiating priest and his assistants, the ...

'' Fargo, 1953 * '' Spirotropis'' Sars, 1878 * '' Splendrillia'' Hedley, 1922 * '' Stenodrillia'' Korobkov, 1955 * ''

Syntomodrillia ''Syntomodrillia'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Drilliidae. Species Species within the genus ''Syntomodrillia'' include: * '' Syntomodrillia bermudensis'' Fallon, 2016 * '' Syntomodrillia carolinae'' Bartsch, ...

'' Hedley, 1922 * ''

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...

'' Vella, 1954 ;Genera brought into synonymy: * '' Brephodrillia'' Pilsbry & Lowe, 1932: synonym of '' Iredalea'' * ''Clavicantha'' Swainson, 1840: synonym of ''

'' Montfort, 1810 * ''Eldridgea'' Bartsch, 1934: synonym of ''

'' Montfort, 1810 * ''Fusisyrinx'' Bartsch, 1934: synonym of '' Fusiturricula'' Woodring, 1928 * ''Tylotia'' Melvill, 1917: synonym of ''

'' Montfort, 1810 * ''Tylotiella'' Habe, 1958: synonym of ''

'' Montfort, 1810 ;Genera moved to other families: * '' Austroclavus'' (unassigned to a family within Conoidea) * '' Brachytoma'' moved to the family

Pseudomelatomidae Pseudomelatomidae is a family of predatory sea snails, marine gastropods included in the superfamily Conoidea (previously Conacea) and part of the Neogastropoda ( Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005). In 1995 Kantor elevated the subfamily Pseudomelatomina ...

* '' Sediliopsis'' Petuch, 1988 : moved to the family

References

The Taxonomicon

External links

PHILLIP J. Jr. FALLON, Taxonomic review of tropical western Atlantic shallow water Drilliidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Conoidea) including descriptions of 100 new species; Zootaxa, [S.l.], v. 4090, n. 1, p. 1–363, mar. 2016. ISSN 1175-5334

WMSDB - Worldwide Mollusc Species Data Base: family Drilliidae
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3170724 Conoidea