Ficidae
Encyclopedia
Ficidae, common name
the fig shells are a family
of medium to large marine
gastropods. It is the only family in the superfamily Ficoidea.
According to taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi (2005)
the family Ficidae has no subfamilies.
The shells
of these snails are shaped rather like fig
s or pear
s, hence the common name.
The Ficidae were previously included in the Tonnaceae (now Tonnoidea
) along with the Tonnidae
and Cassididae.
and mud
covered neritic zone
s.
and a long siphonal canal
, but an extremely low spire
which does not protrude above the outline of the body whorl
.
Fig shells very often have subdued spiral ribbing
, and are subtly patterned in shades of very pale brown and beige
.
Genera brought into synonymy:
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
the fig shells 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 medium to large 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...
gastropods. It is the only family in the superfamily Ficoidea.
According to 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 Ficidae has no subfamilies.
The shells
Gastropod shell
The gastropod shell is a shell which is part of the body of a gastropod or snail, one kind of mollusc. The gastropod shell is an external skeleton or exoskeleton, which serves not only for muscle attachment, but also for protection from predators and from mechanical damage...
of these snails are shaped rather like fig
Ficus
Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...
s or pear
Pear
The pear is any of several tree species of genus Pyrus and also the name of the pomaceous fruit of these trees. Several species of pear are valued by humans for their edible fruit, but the fruit of other species is small, hard, and astringent....
s, hence the common name.
The Ficidae were previously included in the Tonnaceae (now Tonnoidea
Tonnoidea
Tonnoidea is a superfamily of sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Littorinimorpha.-Families:Families within the superfamily Tonnoidea include:*Family Tonnidae*Family Bursidae*Family Laubierinidae*Family Personidae*Family Pisanianuridae...
) along with the Tonnidae
Tonnidae
Tonnidae is a family of medium-sized to very large sea snails, known as the tun shells. These are marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Sorbeoconcha and the clade Littorinimorpha.- Taxonomy :...
and Cassididae.
Distribution
The family is found worldwide, mostly in tropical and subtropical siltSilt
Silt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz and feldspar. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...
and mud
Mud
Mud is a mixture of water and some combination of soil, silt, and clay. Ancient mud deposits harden over geological time to form sedimentary rock such as shale or mudstone . When geological deposits of mud are formed in estuaries the resultant layers are termed bay muds...
covered neritic zone
Neritic zone
The neritic zone, also called coastal waters, the coastal ocean or the sublittoral zone, is the part of the ocean extending from the low tide mark to the edge of the continental shelf, with a relatively shallow depth extending to about 200 meters...
s.
Shell description
The shells of species in the Ficidae are thin but strong. They have a large apertureAperture (mollusc)
The aperture is an opening in certain kinds of mollusc shells: it is the main opening of the shell, where part of the body of the animal emerges for locomotion, feeding, etc....
and a long siphonal canal
Siphonal canal
Some sea marine gastropods have a soft tubular anterior extension of the mantle called a siphon through which water is drawn into the mantle cavity and over the gill and which serves as a chemoreceptor to locate food. In many carnivorous snails, where the siphon is particularly long, the structure...
, but an extremely low spire
Spire (mollusc)
A spire is a descriptive term for part of the coiled shell of mollusks. The word is a convenient aid in describing shells, but it does not refer to a very precise part of shell anatomy: the spire consists of all of the whorls except for the body whorl...
which does not protrude above the outline of the body whorl
Body whorl
Body whorl is part of the morphology of a coiled gastropod mollusk.- In gastropods :In gastropods, the body whorl, or last whorl, is the most recently-formed and largest whorl of a spiral or helical shell, terminating in the aperture...
.
Fig shells very often have subdued spiral ribbing
Sculpture (mollusc)
The sculpture of a mollusc shell is the three-dimensional ornamentation on the outer surface, as distinct from the basic shape of the shell itself or colouration. Sculpture may be concave as well as convex. Sometimes it has microscopic detail. Sculpture refers to the calcareous outer layer, not the...
, and are subtly patterned in shades of very pale brown and beige
Beige
Beige may be described as an off tan color or an extremely pale brown color.The term originates from beige cloth, a cotton fabric left undyed in its natural color...
.
Genera
Genera within the family Ficidae include:- Ficus RödingPeter Friedrich RödingPeter Friedrich Röding was a German malacologist who lived in Hamburg. Very little is known about this naturalist.Many of Röding's descriptions are of species which were first named by earlier authors such as Johann Hieronymus Chemnitz, Friedrich Wilhelm Martini and Martin Lister...
, 1798 - † Austroficopsis Stilwell & Zinsmeister, 1992
- † FicopsisFicopsisFicopsis is an extinct genus of large sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Ficidae, the fig snails.This species lived from the Paleocene to the Miocene in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America.-External links:...
Conrad, 1866 - † Fusoficula
- † Gonysycon
- ThalassocyonThalassocyonThalassocyon is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Ficidae, the fig shells.-Distribution:This genus is found from South Africa to the Kermadec Islands and the North Island of New Zealand.- Further reading :...
Barnard, 1960
Genera brought into synonymy:
- Ficula Swainson, 1835 : synonym of Ficus Röding, 1798
- Pirula Montfort, 1810 : synonym of Ficus Röding, 1798
- Pyrula Lamarck, 1799 : synonym of Ficus Röding, 1798
- Sycotypus Gray, 1847 : synonym of Ficus Röding, 1798
Furtehr reading
- Powell A. W. B.Arthur William Baden PowellDr Arthur William Baden Powell CBE was a New Zealand malacologist, naturalist and palaeontologist, a major influence in the study and classification of New Zealand molluscs through much of the twentieth century. He was known to his friends and family by his third name, "Baden".Powell was born at...
, New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers LtdHarperCollinsHarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1