Ellobiidae

Ellobiidae
A live but retracted individual of Laemodonta siamensis on a human hand. A partially torn epiphragm of dried mucus is visible in the aperture of the shell
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Heterobranchia clade Euthyneura clade Panpulmonata clade Eupulmonata
Superfamily:	Ellobioidea Pfeiffer, 1854
Family:	Ellobiidae Pfeiffer, 1854
Genera
See text

Drawing of shells of Ellobium pyramidale.

Ellobiidae is a family of small air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the clade Eupulmonata. This is the only family in the superfamily Ellobioidea, according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005).

These are mostly snails that live in salt marshes and similar maritime habitats, and thus have a tolerance for saline conditions.

Anatomy

In this family, the number of haploid chromosomes lies between 16 and 20 (according to the values in this table).

Taxonomy

The family Ellobiidae Pfeiffer, 1854 (1822) consists of the following subfamilies:

• subfamily Ellobiinae Pfeiffer, 1854 (1822)
• subfamily Carychiinae Jeffreys, 1830
• subfamily Melampinae Stimpson, 1851 (1850)
• subfamily Pedipedinae P. Fischer & Crosse, 1880
• subfamily Pythiinae Odhner, 1925 (1880)
• † subfamily Zaptychiinae Wenz, 1938

Genera

Genera within the family Ellobiidae include:

subfamily Ellobiinae

• Ellobium Röding, 1798
• Leucophytia Winckworth, 1949

subfamily Carychiinae

• Carychium O. F. Müller, 1774

subfamily Melampinae

• Melampus Montfort, 1810

subfamily Pedipedinae

• Pedipes Férussac, 1821

subfamily Pythiinae

• Cassidula
• Pythia Röding, 1798 - type genus of the subfamily Pythiinae. Phytia is a nomen nudum.
• Myosotella Monterosato, 1906
• Laemodonta Philippi, 1846

† subfamily Zaptychiinae

• † Zaptychius Walcott, 1883 - type genus of the subfamily

subfamily ?

• Auriculinella Tausch, 1886
• Blauneria Shuttleworth, 1854
• Creedonia Martins, 1996
• Detracia Gray in Turton, 1840
• Leuconopsis Hutton, 1884
• Microtralia Dall, 1894
• Ovatella Bivona, 1832
• Tralia Gray, 1840