Batillariidae, common name batillariids or mudcreepers, are a family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 of marine

Marine (ocean)

Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...

, cerithioidean

Cerithioidea

The Cerithioidea is a superfamily of marine, brackish water and freshwater gastropod containing more than 200 genera. The Cerithoidea are included in the clade Sorbeoconcha. The original name of this superfamily was Cerithiacea, in keeping with common superfamily endings at the time.- Ecology...

 gastropod molluscs in the clade

Clade

A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...

 Sorbeoconcha

Sorbeoconcha

Sorbeoconcha is a taxonomic clade of snails, i.e. gastropods, mainly marine species with gills and opercula, within the clade Caenogastropoda.The taxon Sorbeoconcha was named by Winston Ponder and David R. Lindberg in 1997.-1997 taxonomy:...

.
They consist of 14 living species, classified in six to eight genera.

According to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi (2005)

Taxonomy of the Gastropoda (Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005)

The taxonomy of the Gastropoda as it was revised by Philippe Bouchet and Jean-Pierre Rocroi is currently the most up-to-date overall system for classifying gastropod mollusks...

 the family Batillariidae has no subfamilies. However, a recent molecular study has found that the Batillariidae as traditionally conceived are not monophyletic. The Neotropical genera Lampanella and Rhinocoryne are sister to the Planaxidae

Planaxidae

Planaxidae, common name planaxids, are a taxonomic family of small and minute sea snails, pantropical marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Sorbeoconcha.- Taxonomy :...

. The monophyletic Batillariidae sensu stricto are restricted to the northwestern Pacific and Australasia

Australasia

Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...

.

A revised generic classification has been suggested that is consistent with a molecular phylogenetic hypothesis. Accordingly, within the Batillariidae four genera Batillaria

Batillaria

Batillaria is a genus of small salt marsh or mudflat snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Batillariidae, the horn snails.-Species:Species within the genus Batillaria include:* Batillaria attramentaria Batillaria is a genus of small salt marsh or mudflat snails, marine gastropod mollusks...

, Pyrazus

Pyrazus

Pyrazus is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Batillariidae. Pyriazidae is a synonym of Batillariidae and Pyrazus is the type genus of the Pyriazidae.Pyrazus is classified within Potamididae at WoRMS....

, Velacumantus and Zeacumantus

Zeacumantus

Zeacumantus is a genus of small to medium-sized sea snails or mud snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Batillariidae.This genus is sometimes still treated as if it were a subgenus of the genus Batillaria .-Species:...

have been recognized. This delimitation of taxa is consistent with a revised definition of the family based on shell

Mollusc shell

The mollusc shell is typically a calcareous exoskeleton which encloses, supports and protects the soft parts of an animal in the phylum Mollusca, which includes snails, clams, tusk shells, and several other classes...

 characters.

Ecology and Distribution

Batillarids are abundant on sandy mudflats, and sometimes on rocky shores, on continental margins in the warm-temperate to tropical regions of the northwestern Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

, Australasia

Australasia

Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...

 and the Americas

Americas

The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...

.

Fossil record and biogeography

Batillariids appeared in the Late Cretaceous

Cretaceous

The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...

 or Palaeocene, and the extinct genera Pyrazopsis, Vicinocerithium and Granulolabium became diverse in the Tethyan

Tethys Ocean

The Tethys Ocean was an ocean that existed between the continents of Gondwana and Laurasia during the Mesozoic era before the opening of the Indian Ocean.-Modern theory:...

 realm before the group disappeared from Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 at the end of the Miocene

Miocene

The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...

. The Batillariidae s. s. reached Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 by the Late Oligocene

Oligocene

The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 34 million to 23 million years before the present . As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are slightly...

, and the genera Pyrazus

Pyrazus

Pyrazus is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Batillariidae. Pyriazidae is a synonym of Batillariidae and Pyrazus is the type genus of the Pyriazidae.Pyrazus is classified within Potamididae at WoRMS....

, Velacumantus and Zeacumantus

Zeacumantus

Zeacumantus is a genus of small to medium-sized sea snails or mud snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Batillariidae.This genus is sometimes still treated as if it were a subgenus of the genus Batillaria .-Species:...

still survive in this refugium of Tethyan fauna.
Two lineages, Batillaria

Batillaria

Batillaria is a genus of small salt marsh or mudflat snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Batillariidae, the horn snails.-Species:Species within the genus Batillaria include:* Batillaria attramentaria Batillaria is a genus of small salt marsh or mudflat snails, marine gastropod mollusks...

and the extinct Tateiwaia, migrated north to China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 and Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 in the Early Miocene

Miocene

The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...

, to establish the present disjunct distribution of this relictual group in southern Australasia

Australasia

Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...

 and the Oriental region.

Genera

Genera within the family Batillariidae include:

Neotropical genera (to be placed in a new family):

• Lampanella
  Lampanella
  Lampanella is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Batillariidae.-Species:Species within the genus Lampanella include:* Lampanella minima Synonyms:...
  
  Mörch, 1876
• Rhinocoryne
  Rhinocoryne
  Rhinocoryne is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Batillariidae.-Species:Species within the genus Rhinocoryne include:* Rhinocoryne humboltdi -References:...
  
  Martens, 1900

Indopacific genera (Batillariidae sensu stricto):

• Batillaria
  Batillaria
  Batillaria is a genus of small salt marsh or mudflat snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Batillariidae, the horn snails.-Species:Species within the genus Batillaria include:* Batillaria attramentaria Batillaria is a genus of small salt marsh or mudflat snails, marine gastropod mollusks...
  
  Benson, 1842 - type genus of the family Batillariidae, synonym: Lampania Gray, 1847
• Pyrazus
  Pyrazus
  Pyrazus is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Batillariidae. Pyriazidae is a synonym of Batillariidae and Pyrazus is the type genus of the Pyriazidae.Pyrazus is classified within Potamididae at WoRMS....
  
  Montfort, 1810
• Zeacumantus
  Zeacumantus
  Zeacumantus is a genus of small to medium-sized sea snails or mud snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Batillariidae.This genus is sometimes still treated as if it were a subgenus of the genus Batillaria .-Species:...
  
  Finlay, 1926, synonym: Batillariella Thiele
  Johannes Thiele
  Johannes Thiele, full name Karl Hermann Johannes Thiele was a German zoologist specialized in malacology. His Handbuch der systematischen Weichtierkunde is a standard work...
  
  , 1931
• Velacumantus Iredale
  Tom Iredale
  Tom Iredale was an English-born ornithologist and malacologist who had a long association with Australia, where he lived for most of his life. He was an autodidact who never went to university and lacked formal training...
  
  , 1936

Fossil

Fossil

Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

 genera:

• Granulolabium
• Tiaracerithium Sacco, 1895; possibly a synonym of Granulolabium
• Vicinocerithium
• Tateiwaia Makiyama, 1936
• Pyrazopsis Akopjan, 1972