Brasilennea Explained

Brasilennea is a fossil genus of small to medium-sized air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropods in the family Cerionidae. The genus is known only from the Brazilian Paleocene Itaboraí Basin, in Rio de Janeiro.^[1] The most characteristic feature of the genus is its two spiral furrows on the body whorl.^[1]

The generic name Brasilennea originally intended to imply that it is a Brazilian genus that is very similar and related to the African genus Ennea. This is no longer the case, however: while the genus was originally classified in the family Streptaxidae, Brasilennea was then later transferred to the family Cerionidae.^[1]

Species

Species within the genus Brasilennea include:

• Brasilennea arethusae Maury, 1935 - type species of genus
• Brasilennea guttula Salvador & Simone, 2012^[2]
• Brasilennea minor Trindade, 1956^[3]

Notes and References

1. Salvador, R.B.; Rowson, B.; Simone, L.R.L. 2011. Rewriting the fossil history of Cerionidae (Gastropoda: Pulmonata): new family assignment of the Brazilian Palaeocene genus Brasilennea Maury, 1935. Journal of Molluscan Studies 77: 445–447.
2. Salvador, R.B. & Simone, L.R.L. 2012. New fossil pulmonate snails from the Paleocene of Itaboraí Basin, Brazil (Pulmonata: Cerionidae, Strophocheilidae, Orthalicidae). Archiv für Molluskenkunde 141(1): 43-50.
3. Trindade, N.M. 1956. Contribuição ao estudo da malacofauna da São José de Itaboraí, Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Notas Preliminares e Estudos do Departamento Nacional de Produção Mineral 96: 1–22.