Melanopsidae

Melanopsis costata, copyright Panayotis Ovalis.

Belongs within: Cerithiimorpha.

The Melanopsidae are a group of freshwater snails with a disjunct distribution in the western Palaearctic and New Zealand. They have an ovate or elongate conical shell that is smooth or ornamented with nodulose ribs. Though modern species are only found in fresh water, fossil representatives may have inhabited brackish or shallow marine waters (Tracey et al. 1993).

<==Melanopsidae [Melanopidae, Melanopsinae]
    |--Megalonoda reussi (Hörnes 1856) TTE93
    |--Amphimelania Fischer 1885 [Amphimelaniidae, Amphimelaniinae] BR05
    |    `--*A. holandrii (Pfeiffer 1828) [=Melania holandrii] BR17
    |--Fagotia Bourguignat 1884 [Fagotiinae] BR05
    |    `--*F. esperi (Férussac 1823) [=Melanopsis esperi] BR17
    `--Melanopsis Férussac 1807 BR05
         |  i. s.: M. americana G88
         |         M. buccinoidea (Olivier 1804) [=Melania buccinoidea] BR17
         |         M. etrusca PB27
         |         M. impressa Krauss 1852 GK02
         |         M. jordanica PB27
         |         M. kleini E99
         |         M. laevigata E99
         |         M. narzolina E99
         |           |--M. n. narzolina E99
         |           `--M. n. gigantea E99
         |         M. praerosa (Linnaeus 1767) [=Buccinum praerosum] BR17
         |         M. requenensis E99
         |         M. variabilis C63
         |--*M. (Melanopsis) costata (Olivier 1804) [=Melania costata] BR17
         |    |--M. c. costata C63
         |    `--M. c. turcica C63
         |--M. (Pakaurangia Finlay 1926) F26
         |    |--M. (*P.) waitaraensis Marwick 1926 [=Zemelanopsis (*P.) waitaraensis] F26
         |    `--‘Zemelanopsis’ (P.) zelandicus (Marshall 1918) [=Coptochetus zelandicus] F26
         `--M. (Zemelanopsis Finlay 1927) P61
              |--M. (*Z.) trifasciata Gray 1843 P61
              `--M. (Z.) pomahaka (Hutton 1873) H86, F26 [=Ancillaria pomahaka F26]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[BR05] Bouchet, P., & J.-P. Rocroi. 2005. Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families. Malacologia 47 (1–2): 1–397.

[BR17] Bouchet, P., J.-P. Rocroi, B. Hausdorf, A. Kaim, Y. Kano, A. Nützel, P. Parkhaev, M. Schrödl & E. E. Strong. 2017. Revised classification, nomenclator and typification of gastropod and monoplacophoran families. Malacologia 61 (1–2): 1–526.

[C63] Curtin, T. J. 1963. Snails from Turkey, Crete and Greece. Nautilus 76 (4): 132–135.

[E99] Esu, D. 1999. Contribution to the knowledge of Neogene climate changes in western and central Europe by means of non-marine molluscs. In: J. Agustí, L. Rook & P. Andrews (eds) The Evolution of Neogene Terrestrial Ecosystems in Europe pp. 328–354. Cambridge University Press.

[F26] Finlay, H. J. 1926. A further commentary on New Zealand molluscan systematics. Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 57: 320–485.

[G88] Gray, J. 1988. Evolution of the freshwater ecosystem: the fossil record. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 62: 1–214.

[GK02] Gründel, J., & T. Kowalke. 2002. Palaeorissoinidae, a new family of marine and brackish water Rissooidea (Gastropoda, Littorinimorpha). Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie Abhandlungen 226 (1): 43–57.

[H86] Hutton, F. W. 1886. The Mollusca of the Pareora and Oamaru systems of New Zealand. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, series 2, 1 (1): 205–237.

[PB27] Pilsbry, H. A., & J. Bequaert. 1927. The aquatic mollusks of the Belgian Congo, with a geographical and ecological account of Congo malacology. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 53 (2): 69–602, pls 10–77.

[P61] Powell, A. W. B. 1961. Shells of New Zealand: An illustrated handbook 4^th ed. Whitcombe and Tombs Limited: Christchurch.

[TTE93] Tracey, S., J. A. Todd & D. H. Erwin. 1993. Mollusca: Gastropoda. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 131–167. Chapman & Hall: London.

Last updated: 24 February 2022.