Scientific name Pomatiopsidae Higher classification Rissooidea | Superfamily Rissooidea Rank Family | |
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Similar Gastropods, Molluscs, Neotricula aperta, Tricula, Rissooidea | ||
Pomatiopsidae is a family of small, mainly freshwater snails, (some also occur in other habitats) that have gills and an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Rissooidea (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005).
Contents
Pomatiopsidae are well known as intermediate hosts of Asian schistosomes.
Distribution
Species in the family Pomatiopsidae occur worldwide. The generic diversity of Pomatiopsinae is particularly high in the Japanese Archipelago, where four of the eight genera, including two endemics, are recorded. The subfamily Triculinae radiated as aquatic snails in freshwater habitats in Southeast Asia.
Description
The American malacologist William Stimpson first defined this taxon as Pomatiopsinae in 1865. Stimpson's diagnosis reads as follows:
Subfamilies
The family Pomatiopsidae consists of 2 subfamilies (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005) that follows classification by Davis (1979):
Family-group name Rehderiellinae Brandt, 1974 is also in Pomatiopsidae, but it is not allocated in detail.
Genera
Genera within the family Pomatiopsidae include:
Subfamily Pomatiopsinae
Subfamily Triculinae - there are over 20 genera in Triculinae
tribe Triculuni
tribe Jullieniini
tribe Lacunopsini
tribe Pachydrobiini
Rehderiellinae is not allocated to a subfamily
Ecology
The Pomatiopsidae have various life habits: aquatic, amphibious, littoral, halophilic, cavernicolous and even terrestrial. Terrestrial taxa occur only on the Japanese Archipelago located in East Asia (Blanfordia). Tomichia and Coxiella include several halophilic species occurring on saline lakes.
Pomatiopsidae invaded freshwater habitats from marine ones in one or in two independent lineages. They also invaded terrestrial habitats from freshwater habitats in two independent lineages.