Ellobiidae



Ellobiidae, common name the hollow-shelled snails, is a family of small air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the clade Eupulmonata. Ellobiidae is the only family in the superfamily Ellobioidea, according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005).

Anatomy
In this family, the number of haploid chromosomes lies between 16 and 20 (according to the values in this table).

They have a distinctive mode of locomotion arising due to a split sole. The front part of the sole adheres to the substrate and then the rear part of the sole is drawn up to the front part.

Taxonomy
Species are traditionally classified into five taxonomic groups, the Pythiidae, the Laemodontidae, the Melampodidae, the Ellobiidae and the Carychiidae. These taxa have been recognized either as families within Ellobioidea or as sub-families within the family Ellobiidae.

The family Ellobiidae consists of the following subfamilies (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005):
 * subfamily Ellobiinae Pfeiffer, 1854 (1822)
 * subfamily Carychiinae Jeffreys, 1830
 * subfamily Melampinae Stimpson, 1851 (1850)
 * subfamily Pedipedinae P. Fischer & Crosse, 1880
 * subfamily Pythiinae Odhner, 1925 (1880)
 * † subfamily Zaptychiinae Wenz, 1938

The high degree of homoplasy in morphological characters and frequent low variability has led to the description of approximately 800 species names available in the literature, of which 250 are likely to be valid.

A molecular study by Dayrat at al. (2011) for the Ellobioidea suggests a monophyletic origin of the entire group.

Genera
Genera within the family Ellobiidae include:

subfamily Ellobiinae
 * Blauneria Shuttleworth, 1854
 * Ellobium Röding, 1798

subfamily Carychiinae
 * Carychium O. F. Müller, 1773
 * Zospeum Bourguignat, 1856

subfamily Melampinae
 * Melampus Montfort, 1810

subfamily Pedipedinae subfamily Pythiinae Odhner, 1925
 * Creedonia Martins, 1996
 * Leuconopsis Hutton, 1884
 * Marinula King & Broderip, 1832
 * Microtralia Dall, 1894
 * Pedipes Férussac, 1821
 * Pseudomelampus Pallary, 1900
 * Sarnia H. Adams & A. Adams, 1855 (temporary name)
 * Allochroa Ancey, 1887
 * Auriculastra Martens, 1880
 * Cassidula Gray, 1847
 * Laemodonta Philippi, 1846
 * Myosotella Monterosato, 1906
 * Ophicardelus Beck, 1838
 * Ovatella Bivona, 1832
 * Pleuroloba Hyman, Rouse & Ponder, 2005
 * Pythia Röding, 1798 - type genus of the subfamily Pythiinae.

† subfamily Zaptychiinae
 * † Zaptychius Walcott, 1883 - type genus of the subfamily

subfamily ? Genus Sarnia H. Adams & A. Adams, 1855 (temporary name, Sarnia [H. & A. Adams, 1855 (September), The Genera of Recent Mollusca, 2: 239] is an incorrect subsequent spelling of Siona H. Adams & A. Adams, 1855 which is a junior homonym of Siona Duponchel, 1829 [Lepidoptera].)
 * Auriculinella Tausch, 1886
 * Auriculodes Strand, 1928
 * Blauneria Shuttleworth, 1854
 * Detracia Gray in Turton, 1840
 * Tralia Gray, 1840
 * Genera brought into synonymy:
 * Alexia Leach in Gray, 1847: synonym of Myosotella Monterosato, 1906
 * Auricula Lamarck, 1799: synonym of Ellobium Röding, 1798
 * Cremnobates Swainson, 1855: synonym of Marinula King & Broderip, 1832
 * Jaminia T. Brown, 1827: synonym of Myosotella Monterosato, 1906
 * Kochia Pallary, 1900: synonym of Myosotella Monterosato, 1906
 * Laimodonta H. Adams & A. Adams, 1855: synonym of Laemodonta Philippi, 1846
 * Leuconia Gray, 1840: synonym of Auriculinella Tausch, 1886
 * Leucopepla Peile, 1926: synonym of Auriculinella Tausch, 1886
 * Leucophytia Winckworth, 1949: synonym of Auriculinella Tausch, 1886
 * Monica H. Adams & A. Adams, 1855: synonym of Ovatella Bivona-Bernardi, 1832
 * Nealexia Wenz, 1920: synonym of Myosotella Monterosato, 1906
 * Phytia: synonym of Pythia Röding, 1798
 * Pira H. & A. Adams, 1855: synonym of Melampus Montfort, 1810
 * Plecotrema H. Adams & A. Adams, 1854: synonym of Laemodonta Philippi, 1846
 * Rangitotoa Powell, 1933: synonym of Microtralia Dall, 1894
 * Taxonomic note:

Ecology
The taxon Ellobioidea comprises a group of morphologically and ecologically highly diverse snails, known to have successfully invaded the marine, brackish water and terrestrial habitats.

These are mostly snails that live in salt marshes and similar maritime habitats, and thus have a tolerance for saline conditions.