Kingdom Animalia Clade Caenogastropoda Scientific name Littorinimorpha Rank Order | Phylum Mollusca Clade Hypsogastropoda Higher classification Gastropods | |
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Clade Littorinimorpha
Golikov & Starobogatov, 1975 Lower classifications Cypraeidae, Strombidae, Cypraea, Naticidae, Rissooidea | ||
Littorinimorpha is a large clade of snails, gastropods within the Subclass Orthogastropoda, consisting primarily of sea snails (marine species), and also in addition some freshwater snails (aquatic species) and land snails (terrestrial species).
Previously, the Linnaean taxonomy used in the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Ponder & Lindberg (1997) ranked like this: subclass Orthogastropoda, superorder Caenogastropoda, order Sorbeoconcha, suborder Hypsogastropoda, infraorder Littorinimorpha.
The order Littorinimorpha contains many gastropoda families that were formerly placed in the order Mesogastropoda, as introduced by J. Thiele in his work from 1921. Evidence for this group being monophyletic is scanty. In 2003, E. E. Strong suggested using only Neogastropoda as a clade within the clade Hypsogastropoda, and to include the unresolved superfamilies of the Hypsogastropoda within the Littorinimorpha.
Superfamilies and families
The superfamilies grouped in this clade include a few families that are well-known based on their shells:
(Extinct taxa indicated by a dagger, †.)