Potamididae
| Potamididae Temporal range: Middle Eocene-Recent |
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| A live individual of Terebralia palustris | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): |
clade Caenogastropoda clade Sorbeoconcha |
| Superfamily: | Cerithioidea |
| Family: |
Potamididae H. Adams & A. Adams, 1854 |
| Diversity | |
| 6 living genera and 29 living species | |
| Synonyms | |
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clade Sorbeoconcha
Potamididae, common name potamidids (also known as horn snails or mudwhelks) are a family of small to large brackish water snails that live on mud flats, mangroves and similar habitats. They are amphibious gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Cerithioidea.
Traditionally, potamidids and batillariids have been confused because they have similar shells and they live in similar environments. For many fossil taxa the family assignment to either of these two families is still unresolved or controversial.
According to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi (2005) the family Potamididae has no subfamilies.
The distribution of Potamididae includes the Indo-West Pacific, the eastern Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean.
Six living and a number of fossil genera are currently recognized:
Recent genera:
Fossil genera (fossils are difficult to differentiate from other cerithioideans, such as the Batillariidae):
Most of the 29 living species of Potamididae show a close association with mangroves. Most species live on mudflats, but some also climb mangrove trees.
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Wikipedia