Trimusculidae
Encyclopedia
Trimusculus is a genus
of medium-sized air-breathing sea snail
s or false limpet
s, marine
pulmonate gastropod molluscs.
Trimusculus is the only genus in the family Trimusculidae. Trimusculidae, the button snails, is the only family in the superfamily Trimusculoidea, a family
of small, air-breathing sea snails known as button shells, which are one kind of "false limpet". These are marine pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the clade
Eupulmonata
.
Trimusculids are not very closely related to the siphonariids
, another family of marine air-breathing false-limpets. The trimusculids are in the clade Eupulmonata
, and are quite closely related to air-breathing land snails.
shells" or "button snails" because especially in the eastern Pacific species Trimusculus reticulatus, the shells are small, white, almost perfectly circular in outline, only moderately elevated, and thus the shells are somewhat reminiscent of traditional white shirt buttons.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of medium-sized air-breathing sea snail
Sea snail
Sea snail is a common name for those snails that normally live in saltwater, marine gastropod molluscs....
s or false limpet
Limpet
Limpet is a common name for a number of different kinds of saltwater and freshwater snails ; it is applied to those snails that have a simple shell which is more or less conical in shape, and either is not spirally coiled, or appears not to be coiled in the adult snails.The name limpet is most...
s, 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...
pulmonate gastropod molluscs.
Trimusculus is the only genus in the family Trimusculidae. Trimusculidae, the button snails, is the only family in the superfamily Trimusculoidea, 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 small, air-breathing sea snails known as button shells, which are one kind of "false limpet". These are marine pulmonate gastropod mollusks 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...
Eupulmonata
Eupulmonata
The Eupulmonata is a taxonomic clade of air-breathing snails. The great majority of this group are land snails and slugs, but some are marine and some are saltmarsh snails that can tolerate salty conditions.-Linnean taxonomy:...
.
Trimusculids are not very closely related to the siphonariids
Siphonariidae
Siphonariidae is a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized air-breathing sea snails, marine and brackish water pulmonate gastropod molluscs. These snails are sometimes known as "false limpets" because of the shape of the shell, but they are not at all closely related to true limpets...
, another family of marine air-breathing false-limpets. The trimusculids are in the clade Eupulmonata
Eupulmonata
The Eupulmonata is a taxonomic clade of air-breathing snails. The great majority of this group are land snails and slugs, but some are marine and some are saltmarsh snails that can tolerate salty conditions.-Linnean taxonomy:...
, and are quite closely related to air-breathing land snails.
Description
Trimusculids are sometimes known as "buttonButton
In modern clothing and fashion design, a button is a small fastener, most commonly made of plastic, but also frequently of seashell, which secures two pieces of fabric together. In archaeology, a button can be a significant artifact. In the applied arts and in craft, a button can be an example of...
shells" or "button snails" because especially in the eastern Pacific species Trimusculus reticulatus, the shells are small, white, almost perfectly circular in outline, only moderately elevated, and thus the shells are somewhat reminiscent of traditional white shirt buttons.
Species
Species within the genus Trimusculus include:- Trimusculus afer (Gmelin, 1791)
- Trimusculus carinatus (Dall, 1870)
- Trimusculus conicus (Angas, 1867) - synonym: Gadinalea conica (Angas, 1867)
- Trimusculus costatus (Krauss, 1848)
- Trimusculus escondidus Poppe & Groh, 2009
- Trimusculus goesi (Hubendick, 1946)
- Trimusculus kurodai Habe, 1958
- Trimusculus mammillaris (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Trimusculus mauritianus (Martens, 1880)
- Trimusculus niveus (Hutton, 1883) - synonym: Gadinalea nivea Hutton, 1883
- Trimusculus odhneri (Hubendick, 1946)
- Trimusculus peruvianus (Sowerby II, 1835)
- Trimusculus reticulatus (Sowerby II, 1835)
- Trimusculus stellatus (Sowerby II, 1835)
- Trimusculus yamamotoi Habe, 1958