''Potamididae'',

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 ...

potamidids (also known as horn snails or mudwhelks) are a

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 to large

brackish water Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estua ...

snails that live on

mud flat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

s and similar habitats. They are amphibious

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 superfamily Cerithioidea. Traditionally, potamidids and batillariids have been confused because they have similar shells and they live in similar environments. For many fossil taxa the family assignment to either of these two

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

is still unresolved or controversial. According to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi (2005) the family Potamididae has no subfamilies.

Distribution

The distribution of Potamididae includes the

Indo-West Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

, the eastern

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

Genera

Six living and a number of fossil genera are currently recognized: Recent genera: * ''

Cerithidea ''Cerithidea'' is a genus of medium-sized sea snails or mud snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Potamididae, the horn snails. MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Cerithidea Swainson, 1840. Accessed through: World Register of Ma ...

'' Swainson, 1840 * ''

Cerithideopsis ''Cerithideopsis'' is a genus of medium-sized sea snails or mud snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Potamididae, the horn snails. MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Cerithideopsis Thiele, 1929. Accessed through: World Register of ...

'' Thiele, 1929 ** possible subgenus or synonym: † '' Harrisianella'' Olson, 1929 - Reid et al. (2008) classify ''Harrisianella'' as a possible subgenus or synonym of ''Cerithideopsis'' ** possible subgenus or synonym: † '' Lagunitis'' Olsson, 1929 - Reid et al. (2008) classify ''Lagunitis'' as a possible subgenus or synonym of ''Cerithideopsis'' * ''

Cerithideopsilla ''Cerithideopsilla'' is a genus of medium-sized sea snails or mud snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Potamididae, the horn snails.Reid, David G. (2013). Cerithideopsilla Thiele, 1929. Accessed through: World Register of Marine S ...

'' Thiele, 1929 - synonym: ''Pirenella'' Gray, 1847 (or of ''Potamides'') * ''

Telescopium Telescopium is a minor constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere, one of twelve named in the 18th century by French astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille and one of several depicting scientific instruments. Its name is a Latinized form ...

'' Montfort, 1810 * ''

Terebralia ''Terebralia'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Potamididae. Species Species within the genus ''Terebralia'' include: * ''Terebralia palustris ''Terebralia palustris'', common name the giant mangrove whe ...

'' Swainson, 1840 ** possible subgenus or synonym: † '' Gravesicerithium'' Charpiat, 1923 ** subgenus or synonym: † '' Cerithideops'' Pilsbry & Harbison, 1933 * ''

Tympanotonos ''Tympanotonos'' is a genus of snail living in brackish water, a gastropod mollusk in the family Potamididae. Extant and extinct species Species within this genus include: * † '' Tympanotonus calcaratus'' (Grateloup, 1840) * † '' Tympano ...

'' Schumacher, 1817 Fossil genera (fossils are difficult to differentiate from other cerithioideans, such as the

Batillariidae Batillariidae, common name batillariids or mudcreepers, are a family of marine, cerithioidean gastropod molluscs in thesuperfamily Cerithioidea. They consist of 14 living species, classified in six to eight genera.Ozawa, T., Köhler, F., Reid, D ...

): * † '' Bittiscala'' Finlay & Marwick, 1937Potamididae

The Paleobiology Database The Paleobiology Database is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals, plants, and microorganisms. History The Paleobiology Database (PBDB) originated in the NCEAS-funded Phanerozoic Marine Pale ...

, Retrieved 10 April 2011. * † '' Campanilopsis'' Chavan, 1949 * † '' Canaliscala'' Cossmann, 1888 * † '' Echinobathra'' Cossmann, 1906 * † '' Exechestoma'' Cossmann, 1899 * † '' Gantechinobathra'' Kowalke, 2001 * † '' Hadraxon'' Oppenheim, 1892 * † '' Potamides'' Brongniart, 1810 - type genus, its type species is extinct and the whole genus is extinct, synonym: ''Pirenella'' Gray, 1847WoRMS (2010). ''Potamides'' Brongniart, 1810. 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=138374 on 2011-04-10 ** subgenus or synonym: † '' Ptychopotamides'' Saccho, 1895 ** subgenus or synonym: † '' Mesohalina'' Wittibschlager, 1983 ** subgenus or synonym: † '' Vicarya'' d'Archiac & Haimes, 1854 ** subgenus or synonym: † '' Vicaryella'' Yabe & Hatai, 1938 ** possible subgenus or synonym: † '' Eotympanotonus'' Chavan, 1952 * † '' Potamidopsis'' Munier-Chalmas, 1900 * † '' Terebraliopsis'' Cossmann, 1906 ;Generic names brought into synonymy: * ''Aphanistylus'' P. Fischer, 1884: synonym of ''

'' Swainson, 1840 * ''Phaenommia'' Mörch, 1860: synonym of ''

'' Swainson, 1840 * ''Pirenella'' Gray, 1847 is a synonym of '' Potamides'' Brongniart, 1810 or of ''Cerithideopsilla'' * ''Tympanotomus'' Gray, 1840: synonym of ''

'' Schumacher, 1817 * ''Tympanotonus'' Agassiz, 1846: synonym of ''

'' Schumacher, 1817

Ecology

Most of the 29 living species of Potamididae show a close association with mangroves. Most species live on mudflats, but some also climb mangrove trees.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2106366 Gastropod families Taxa named by Arthur Adams (zoologist) Taxa named by Henry Adams (zoologist)