Truncatellidae

Truncatellidae, common name the "looping snails", is a family of small amphibious snails, with gills and an operculum, semi-marine gastropod mollusks or micromollusks.

Shell description

This family of snails have small shells which lose their apical whorls as they continue to grow, giving the shells a truncated and cylindrical appearance.

Subfamilies

The family Truncatellidae consists of two subfamilies :

subfamily Truncatellinae Gray, 1840
subfamily Geomelaniinae Kobelt & Möllendorff, 1897

Genera within the family Truncatellidae include:
TruncatellinaeTruncatella Risso, 1826 - type genus of the family Truncatellidae
GeomelaniinaeGeomelania L. Pfeiffer, 1845 - type genus of the subfamily Geomelaniinae
subfamily ?

†NystiaTaheitia Adams, 1863

Habitat

Snails in this family are found in marine coastal environments, near or just above the high tide line on stones and pebbles, fine sediments and decomposing vegetation.

Life cycle

The sexes are separate. Fertilized eggs are laid as egg capsules, which are attached to detritus.