Truncatellidae,

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 "looping snails", is a

family 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 ...

of small amphibious

snails A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gast ...

, with

gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they ar ...

s and an operculum, semi-marine

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. ...

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 es ...

s or

micromollusk A micromollusk is a shelled mollusk which is extremely small, even at full adult size. The word is usually, but not exclusively, applied to marine mollusks, although in addition, numerous species of land snails and freshwater mollusks also ...

Shell description

This family of snails have small shells which lose their apical whorls as they continue to grow, giving the shells a truncated and cylindrical appearance.

Subfamilies

The family Truncatellidae consists of two subfamilies (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005): * subfamily Truncatellinae Gray, 1840 * subfamily Geomelaniinae Kobelt & Möllendorff, 1897Kobelt & Möllendorff (1897). '' Nachrichtsblatt der Deutschen Malakozoologischen Gesellschaft'' 29(5-6): 74.

Genera

Genera within the family Truncatellidae include: Truncatellinae * '' Truncatella'' Risso, 1826"Mollusca"
. Diversidad Biológica Cubana, accessed 23 March 2011. - type genus of the family Truncatellidae Geomelaniinae * '' Geomelania'' L. Pfeiffer, 1845 - type genus of the subfamily Geomelaniinae subfamily ? * †'' Nystia'' * '' Taheitia'' Adams, 1863

Habitat

Snails in this family are found in marine coastal environments, near or just above the high tide line on stones and pebbles, fine sediments and decomposing vegetation.

Life cycle

The sexes are separate. Fertilized eggs are laid as egg capsules, which are attached to

detritus In biology, detritus () is dead particulate organic material, as distinguished from dissolved organic material. Detritus typically includes the bodies or fragments of bodies of dead organisms, and fecal material. Detritus typically hosts commu ...

References

External links

Truncatellidae
on Discovery Life {{Taxonbar, from=Q7847930