Drilliidae

The Drilliidae are a taxonomic family of small predatory sea snails with high-spired shells. They are classified as marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea.[2]

Drilliidae
An apertural view of a shell of Cymatosyrinx parciplicata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Clade: Caenogastropoda
Clade: Hypsogastropoda
Clade: Neogastropoda
Superfamily: Conoidea
Family: Drilliidae
Olsson, 1964
Genera

See text

Synonyms[1]

Clavidae Casey, 1904 (non McCrady, 1859: preoccupied)

This family has no subfamilies. It consists of about 30 genera and approximately 500 Recent species.

Description

The shell is claviform with a tall spire, or squatly conical to biconical. In many species, the siphonal canal is truncated. The aperture is U-shaped with a parietal callus pad.

The sculpture of the shell shows prominent axial ribs with a polished surface. Most species have a dorsal varix (transverse elevation), except in the genera Cymatosyrinx, Elaeocyma and Splendrillia. The protoconch can be smooth or very carinate. The ovate operculum has a terminal nucleus.[3]

The radula of the species in this family have characteristically five teeth in each row (formula : 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1) with a vestigial central tooth, comb-like lateral teeth and a pair of flat-pointed, slender marginal teeth.[4]

The foregut structure of the anterior alimentary system has the least derived foregut anatomy of all the families in the superfamily Conoidea.[5]

Distribution

This family has wide distribution, ranging from Iceland to the Antarctic Ocean, found at intertidal to abyssal depths. This is reflected in the variability in larval shells and the size of the shell (from a few millimetres to 6 cm) and the characteristics of the protoconch and the teleoconch.[6]

Taxonomic history

The genera in this family were originally separated from the subfamily Clavitulinae and classified by H.& A. Adams (1858) under subfamily Turritinae, because their operculum has a terminal instead of a central nucleus. In 1942, the species with a U-shaped sinus and a parietal callus pad were brought by Powell in the new subfamily Clavinae. In 1966, Morrison proposed the subfamily Drillinae (= Clavinae) for the species with a stenoglossan radula with comb-like lateral teeth. Finally, in 1993, Taylor et al. proposed the promotion of Drillinae from subfamily to the family level Drilliidae.[3][7]

Taxonomy

Genera in the family Drilliidae include:[1]

Genera brought into synonymy
  • Brephodrillia Pilsbry & Lowe, 1932: synonym of Iredalea
  • Clavicantha Swainson, 1840: synonym of Clavus Montfort, 1810
  • Eldridgea Bartsch, 1934: synonym of Clavus Montfort, 1810
  • Fusisyrinx Bartsch, 1934: synonym of Fusiturricula Woodring, 1928
  • Tylotia Melvill, 1917: synonym of Clavus Montfort, 1810
  • Tylotiella Habe, 1958: synonym of Clavus Montfort, 1810
Genera moved to other families
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References
  1. WoRMS (2010). Drilliidae. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=23032 on1 September 2011
  2. Bouchet, P.; Rocroi, J.-P. (2005). "Classification and Nomenclator of Gastropod Families". Malacologia. 47 (1–2).
  3. Chen-Kwoh Chang, Small Turrids of Taiwan, Chapter 3 , History and Taxonomy of the Clavidae; June 1, 2001
  4. Kantor, Yuri I; John D.Taylor (2000). "Formation of marginal radular teeth in Conoidea (Neogastropoda) and the evolution of the hypodermic envenomation mechanism". Journal of Zoology. Cambridge University Press. 252 (2): 251–262. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2000.tb00620.x.
  5. Brian Morton, The Malacofauna of Hong Kong and southern China
  6. Andrea Nappo, Xabier Rey, Daniel Pellegrini, Giuseppe Bonomolo & Fabio Crocetta, Revisiting the disjunct distribution of Conopleura Hinds, 1844 (Mollusca:Gastropoda: Drilliidae); Zootaxa 4392 (3): 567–587]
  7. Taylor, J.D., Kantor, Y.I& Sysoev, A.V.,1993 . Foregut anatomy, feeding mechanisms, relationships and classification of the Conoidea (=Toxoglossas) (Gastropoda) Bull. Nat. Hist. Mus. Lond .(Zool) 5(2): 125-170
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