Muricoidea

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Muricoidea
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Subkingdom: Eumetazoa Superphylum: Protostomia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Gastropoda Subclass: Orthogastropoda Superorder: Caenogastropoda Order: Sorbeoconcha Suborder: Hypsogastropoda Infraorder: Neogastropoda Superfamily: Muricoidea Rafinesque, 1815
Families
See text.

Muricoidea is a taxonomic superfamily of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the infraorder Neogastropoda.

This superfamily includes the murex snails, the chank snails, the true whelks, the dove snails, the crown conchs and busycon whelks, the spindle and tulip snails, the volutes and olives, the harp snails, the margin snails, the miters, and others.

Contents 1 Shell description 2 The fossil record 3 Families within the superfamily Muricoidea 4 References

[edit] Shell description

It is hard to generalize about such a diverse group, but the shell of these snails has an oval aperture, and a noticeable siphonal canal.

[edit] The fossil record

The muricoids first appeared during the Cretaceous period.

[edit] Families within the superfamily Muricoidea

• Babyloniidae T. Kuroda et al., 1971
• Costellariidae McDonald, 1860
• Cystiscidae Stimpson, 1865
• Harpidae Bronn, 1840
• Marginellidae Fleming, 1828
• Mitridae Swainson, 1829
• Muricidae Rafinesque, 1815
• †Pholidotomidae Cossmann, 1896
• Pleioptygmatidae Quinn, 1989
• Strepsiduridae Cossman, 1901
• Turbinellidae Swainson, 1835
• Volutidae Rafinesque, 1815
• Volutomitridae Gray, 1854

[edit] References

• Bouchet, Philippe & Jean-Pierre Rocroi 2005. Classification and Nomenclator of Gastropod Families. Malacologia 47(1-2): 1-397.
• Ponder, WF & DR Lindberg 1997. Towards a phylogeny of gastropod molluscs: an analysis using morphological characters. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 119(2): 83-265.