Batillariidae
Batillaria multiformis
Batillariidae are a family of marine snails, which comprises 14 extant species in six to eight genera.
Taxonomy and systematics
In the current, preliminary classification of the gastropods, family is not divided into subfamilies. The Pyrazidae Hacobjan, 1972 and the Tiaracerithiinae Bouniol, 1981 are considered synonyms.
According to the latest findings, based on the analysis of molecular and morphological features are the Batillariidae as currently circumscribed is not monophyletic. The Neotropical genera Lampanella and Rhinocoryne are a sister group to Planaxidae. The monophyletic Batillariidae sensu stricto is restricted to the northwestern Pacific Ocean and Australasia.
Ecology and distribution
Batillaridae are widespread in warm temperate and tropical coastal areas of the Northwest Pacific, Australasia, Asia and North and Central America. There they are to be found in suitable habitats, usually in high population densities. They inhabit the intertidal and to live both on muddy, sandy and rocky substrates.
Fossil findings and biogeography
First fossils that are assigned to the Batillariidae in a broader sense handed down since the Upper Cretaceous or Paleocene. Since its origin in this period examined have spread the now-extinct genera Pyrazopsis, Vicinocerithium and Granulolabium along the coasts of the Tethys. There they occurred in a variety of forms before they became extinct in Europe at the end of the Miocene. Approximately in the Late Oligocene reached the ancestors of recent actual Batillariidae Australia and New Zealand. In this area, the family is now represented by three still living genera: Pyrazus, Velacumantus and Zeacumantus. Two groups, Batillaria and the now extinct genus Tateiwaia, reached in the Early Miocene, the more northerly coastal areas of East Asia (China, Vietnam and Japan ), where they are found today. Since then, the Batillariidae have a disjunct distribution in Indowestpazifik.
Genera
Species in North and Central America ( independent sister group of Planaxidae ):
- Lampanella Mörch, 1876
- Rhinocoryne Martens, 1900
Genera in Indo- West Pacific ( Batillariidae sensu stricto ):
- Batillaria Benson, 1842 - type genus, synonym: Lampania Gray, 1847
- Pyrazus Montfort, 1810
- Zeacumantus Finlay, 1926 synonym: Batillariella Thiele, 1931
- Velacumantus Iredale, 1936
Fossil genera:
- Granulolabium
- Tiaracerithium Sacco, 1895 ( synonym or subgenus of Granulolabium )
- Vicinocerithium
- Tateiwaia Makiyama, 1936
- Pyrazopsis Akopjan, 1972