Zonitidae
Encyclopedia
Zonitidae, common name
the true glass snails, are a family
of mostly rather small, air-breathing land snail
s, terrestrial
pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Zonitoidea.
Zonitidae is the only family in the superfamily Zonitoidea. The family's type genus
is Zonites
, established by Pierre Denys de Montfort
in 1810. This family has no subfamilies (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005
).
of these snails are flattened in shape with a very low spire
. The shell is perforate or umbillicate
. The lip of the aperture
is simple, lacking thickened margin. These shells are more or less transparent as if made of glass, hence the popular name "glass snails". The shells are colorless or of an amber to brownish color.
s as part of their mating behavior.
In this family, the number of haploid chromosome
s lies between 21 and 25 and also lies between 31 and 35, but other values are also possible (according to the values in this table).
within the family Zonitidae include:
shows the phylogenic relationships of this family to other families in the limacoid clade
:
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 true glass snails, 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 mostly rather small, 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, 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 mollusks in the superfamily Zonitoidea.
Zonitidae is the only family in the superfamily Zonitoidea. The family's type genus
Type genus
In biological classification, a type genus is a representative genus, as with regard to a biological family. The term and concept is used much more often and much more formally in zoology than it is in botany, and the definition is dependent on the nomenclatural Code that applies:* In zoological...
is Zonites
Zonites
Zonites is a genus of mostly small, air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Zonitidae.-Description:...
, established by Pierre Denys de Montfort
Pierre Denys de Montfort
Pierre Denys de Montfort, also sometimes spelled "Pierre Dénys de Montfort", was a French naturalist, in particular a malacologist, remembered today for his pioneering inquiries into the existence of the giant squid Architeuthis, which was thought to be an old wives' tale, and for which he was...
in 1810. This family has no subfamilies (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...
).
Shell description
The spiral, heliciform shellsGastropod 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 flattened in shape with a very 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...
. The shell is perforate or umbillicate
Umbilicus (mollusk)
The umbilicus of a shell is the axially aligned, hollow cone-shaped space within the whorls of a coiled mollusc shell. The term umbilicus is often used in descriptions of gastropod shells, i.e...
. The lip of the aperture
Aperture (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....
is simple, lacking thickened margin. These shells are more or less transparent as if made of glass, hence the popular name "glass snails". The shells are colorless or of an amber to brownish color.
Anatomy
Some snails in genera within this family create and use love dartLove dart
A love dart is a hard, long, sharp, calcareous or chitinous dart which some hermaphroditic land snails and slugs create. Love darts are made in sexually mature animals only, and are used as part of the sequence of events during courtship, before actual mating takes place...
s as part of their mating behavior.
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 21 and 25 and also lies between 31 and 35, but other values are also possible (according to the values in this table).
Ecology
These snails live in damp places under stones and similar objects. The true glass snails are usually nocturnal.Genera
GeneraGenera
Genera is a commercial operating system and development environment for Lisp machines developed by Symbolics. It is essentially a fork of an earlier operating system originating on the MIT AI Lab's Lisp machines which Symbolics had used in common with LMI and Texas Instruments...
within the family Zonitidae include:
- AegopisAegopisAegopis is a genus of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Zonitidae, the true glass snails.-Species:Species within the genus Aegopis include:* Aegopis verticillus...
Fitzinger, 1833 - Allaegopis Riedel, 1979
- Balcanodiscus Riedel & Urbanski, 1964
- BrazieriaBrazieriaBrazieria is a genus of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Zonitidae, the true glass snails.-Species:Species within the genus Brazieria include:* Brazieria entomostoma* Brazieria erasa...
Ancey, 1887 - Doraegopis Riedel, 1982
- Meledella Sturany, 1908
- Paraegopis Hesse, 1910
- RetinellaRetinellaRetinella is a genus of gastropod in the Zonitidae family.Species include:* Retinella stabilei...
Fischer, 1877 - Thasiogenes Riedel, 1998
- Troglaegopis Riedel & Radja, 1983
- Turcozonites Riedel, 1987
- ZonitesZonitesZonites is a genus of mostly small, air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Zonitidae.-Description:...
Montfort, 1810 - type genus
Cladogram
The following cladogramCladogram
A cladogram is a diagram used in cladistics which shows ancestral relations between organisms, to represent the evolutionary tree of life. Although traditionally such cladograms were generated largely on the basis of morphological characters, DNA and RNA sequencing data and computational...
shows the phylogenic relationships of this family to other families in the limacoid clade
Limacoid clade
The limacoid clade is a taxonomic clade of air-breathing land snails, semislugs and slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the informal group Sigmurethra.- Distribution :...
:
Further reading
- Riedel A. The Zonitidae of Greece. Fauna Graeciae V. 194 pp.
- Schileyko A. A. (2003). "Treatise on recent terrestrial pulmonate mollusks. 10. Ariophantidae, Ostracolethaidae, Ryssotidae, Milacidae, Dyakiidae, Staffordiidae, Gastrodontidae, Zonitidae, Daudebardiidae, Parmacellidae". Ruthenica, Supplement 2. 1309-1466.