Rank Family | Scientific name Succineidae Higher classification Succineoidea | |
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Superfamily SuccineoideaBeck, 1837 Lower classifications | ||
Succineidae are a family of small to medium-sized, air-breathing land snails (and slugs), terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. They are commonly called amber snails because their thin fragile shells are translucent and amber-colored. They usually live in damp habitats such as marshes.
Contents
Succineidae is the only family in the superfamily Succineoidea.
The soft parts of the animal appear to be too large for the shell.
Anatomy
In this family, the number of haploid chromosomes varies greatly. The most common totals are less than 10, and also lies between 21 and 25, but other values are also possible (according to the values in this table).
Taxonomy
The family Succineidae contains two subfamilies (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005):
Genera
Genera in the family Succineidae include:
Conservation status
The World Conservation Union (IUCN) considers five species or subspecies of ambersnail as threatened with extinction, and a further three species are categorized as "data deficient" which were previously considered Vulnerable or Extinct, and two species are listed as Near Threatened.