Rhytididae is a taxonomic 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-sized predatory air-breathing land snail

Land snail

A land snail is any of the many species of snail that live on land, as opposed to those that live in salt water and fresh water. Land snails are terrestrial gastropod mollusks that have shells, It is not always an easy matter to say which species are terrestrial, because some are more or less...

s, carnivorous terrestrial

Terrestrial animal

Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...

 pulmonate gastropod molluscs

Mollusca

The Mollusca , common name molluscs or mollusksSpelled mollusks in the USA, see reasons given in Rosenberg's ; for the spelling mollusc see the reasons given by , is a large phylum of invertebrate animals. There are around 85,000 recognized extant species of molluscs. Mollusca is the largest...

 in the superfamily Rhytidoidea.

This family has no subfamilies.

Anatomy

In this family, the number of haploid chromosome

Chromosome

A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA and protein found in cells. It is a single piece of coiled DNA containing many genes, regulatory elements and other nucleotide sequences. Chromosomes also contain DNA-bound proteins, which serve to package the DNA and control its functions.Chromosomes...

s lies between 26 and 35 (according to the values in this table).

Distribution

This family of land snails has a range which extends from South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 to New Guinea

New Guinea

New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...

, some of the higher South Pacific

Oceania

Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...

 islands, 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...

 and 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...

.

The New Zealand genera include Delos, Delouagapia, Paryphanta, Powelliphanta, Rhytida, Wainuia and Schizoglossa. These, however, probably do not form a monophyletic group, as indicated by their differences in their size, shape and radular

Radula

The radula is an anatomical structure that is used by molluscs for feeding, sometimes compared rather inaccurately to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food enters the esophagus...

 morphology

Morphology (biology)

In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....

.

Genera

Genera within the family Rhytididae include:

• Amborhytida
• Austrorhytida
• Delos
• Delouagapia
• Diplomphalus
• Echotrida
• Hebridelos
• Macrocycloides
• Namoitena
• Nata
• Natalina
  Natalina
  Natalina is a genus of medium-sized predatory air-breathing land snails, carnivorous terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the family Rhytididae.-Species:Species within the genus Natalina include:...
  
  
• Occirhenea
  Occirhenea
  Occirhenea is a genus of medium-sized predatory air-breathing land snails, carnivorous terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the family Rhytididae.-References:*...
  
  
• Ougapia
  Ougapia
  Ougapia is a genus of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Rhytididae.-References:*...
  
  
• Paryphanta
  Paryphanta
  Paryphanta, common name kauri snails, is a genus of large predatory land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Rhytididae.-Species:Species within the genus Paryphanta include:* Paryphanta busbyi...
  
  

• Powelliphanta
  Powelliphanta
  Powelliphanta, common name amber snails, is a genus of large, carnivorous land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. As a group their survival status is endangered.- Taxonomy :...
  
  
• Prolesophanta
• Pseudomphalus
• Ptychorhytida
• Rhytida
  Rhytida
  Rhytida is a genus of small to medium-large, air-breathing, predatory land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the family Rhytididae.This is the type genus of the family.- Distribution :This genus is endemic to New Zealand-Species:...
  
  
• Rhytidarex
• Saladelos
• Schizoglossa
  Schizoglossa
  Schizoglossa, common name Paua slug, is a genus of medium-sized to large predatory, air-breathing, land slugs, carnivorous terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the family Rhytididae.-Species and subspecies:...
  
  
• Strangesta
• Tasmaphena
  Tasmaphena
  Tasmaphena is a genus of medium-sized predatory air-breathing land snails, carnivorous terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Rhytididae.It contains the following species:* Tasmaphena lamproides...
  
  
• Torresiropa
• Victaphanta
  Victaphanta
  Victaphanta is a genus of gastropod in the Rhytididae family.It contains the following species:* Victaphanta atramentaria* Victaphanta compacta* Victaphanta lampra* Victaphanta milligani...
  
  
• Wainuia
  Wainuia
  Wainuia is a genus of air-breathing predatory land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the family Rhytididae.-Species:Species within the genus Wainuia include:* Wainuia clarki , North Island...
  
  

Life cycle

Eggs of New Zealand's species are generally deposited in leaf mould. Eggs are usually laid from late October to early December, with exception in some species as Powelliphanta spedeni

Powelliphanta spedeni

Powelliphanta spedeni, known as one of the amber snails, is a species of large, carnivorous land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Rhytididae.-Distribution:This species is endemic to the South Island of New Zealand...

in March.

Further reading

• Climo F. M. (1977) "A new higher classification of New Zealand Rhytididae (Mollusca: Pulmonata)". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 7: 59–65.
• Parkinson P. G. (1979) A consideration of the systematics of the New Zealand Rhytididae (Mollusca: Pulmonata) with a repudiation of the nonsensical ‘Ring species’ speculation lately indulged in by Dr. Climo. Auckland, Pettifogging Press. 22 p.
• Powell A. W. B. (1930) "The Paryphantidae of New Zealand: their hypothetical ancestry, with descriptions of new species and a new genus". Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum 1: 17–56.
• Powell A. W. B. (1938) "The Paryphantidae of New Zealand No. IV". Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum ii(3): 133–150.
• Powell A. W. B. (1946) "The Paryphantidae of New Zealand. V. Further new species of Paryphanta, Wainuia, and Rhytida". Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum 3: 99–134.
• Smith B. J. 1998. Family Rhytididae. In: Beesley P. L., Ross G. J. B. & Wells A. ed. Mollusca: the southern synthesis. Fauna of Australia. Vol. 5. Melbourne, CSIRO Publishing. Pp. 1091–1093.
• Spencera H. G., Brook F. J. & Kenned M. (March 2006) "Phylogeography of Kauri Snails and their allies from Northland, New Zealand (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Rhytididae: Paryphantinae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
  Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
  Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of evolutionary biology and phylogenetics. The journal is edited by D.E. Wildman.-Indexing:The journal is indexed in:*EMBiology*Journal Citation Reports*Scopus*Web of Science...
  
  38(3): 835-842.
• Te Punga M. T. (1953) "The Paryphantidae and a Cook Strait land bridge". New Zealand Journal of Science and Technology 35: 51–63.