Volutoidea Explained

Volutoidea is a taxonomic superfamily of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the clade Neogastropoda.^[1]

This superfamily includes the chank snails, the dove snails, the volutes, the margin snails and others.

Shell description

The shell of the snails in this superfamily vary greatly in shape and degree of ornamentation. The shells have an oval aperture, and a noticeable siphonal canal.

Families

Families within the superfamily Volutoidea are as follows:

• family Cancellariidae Forbes & Hanley, 1851
• family Cystiscidae Stimpson, 1865 -- 15 genera
• family Granulinidae G. A. Coovert & H. K. Coovert, 1995
• family Marginellidae Fleming, 1828 -- 30 genera
• family Marginellonidae Coan, 1965
• family Volutidae Rafinesque, 1815 -- 49 genera

Synonyms:

• Paladmetidae Stephenson, 1941 † synonym of Admetinae Troschel, 1865
• Plesiocystiscidae G. A. Coovert & H. K. Coovert, 1995: synonym of Plesiocystiscinae G. A. Coovert & H. K. Coovert, 1995

References

• 1997. Towards a phylogeny of gastropod molluscs: an analysis using morphological characters. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 119(2): 83-265.
• (2017). Revised classification, nomenclator and typification of gastropod and monoplacophoran families. Malacologia. 61(1-2): 1–526.

Notes and References

1. MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Volutoidea Rafinesque, 1815. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1055738 on 2020-06-05