Viviparidae
| Viviparidae Temporal range: Aptian-Recent |
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| An alive but retracted individual of Viviparus contectus, showing the operculum | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): |
clade Caenogastropoda informal group Architaenioglossa |
| Superfamily: | Viviparoidea |
| Family: |
Viviparidae J. E. Gray, 1847 |
| Subfamilies | |
| Diversity | |
| 125–150 freshwater species | |
informal group Architaenioglossa
Viviparidae, sometimes known as the river snails, are a family of large operculate freshwater snails, aquatic gastropod mollusks.
This family is classified in the informal group Architaenioglossa according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005.
This family occurs nearly worldwide in temperate and tropical regions, with the exception that they are absent from South America.
There are two genera of Viviparidae in Africa: Bellamya and Neothauma.
The family Viviparidae contains 3 subfamilies (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005):
Genera within the family Viviparidae include:
subfamily Viviparinae Gray, 1847
subfamily Bellamyinae Rohrbach, 1937
subfamily Lioplacinae Gill, 1863
subfamily ?
Life spans have been reported from 3 to 11 years in various species of Viviparidae.
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