Trimusculidae

Taxobox
name = Trimusculidae


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regnum = Animalia
phylum = Mollusca
classis = Gastropoda
subclassis = Orthogastropoda
superordo = Heterobranchia
ordo = Pulmonata
familia = Trimusculidae
familia_authority = Burch, J.Q., 1945
subdivision_ranks = Genera
subdivision = See text.
synonyms =

Trimusculidae is a family of small, air-breathing sea snails known as button shells, which are one kind of "false limpet". These are marine pulmonate gastropod mollusks.

They are in the order Eupulmonata, and as such they are related to air-breathing land snails.

Trimusculids are known as "button shells", because their shells are small, almost perfectly circular in outline, and white.

hell description

The shells of these snails are somewhat limpet-like, but they are not at all closely related to the true limpets. They are air-breathing pulmonates, and can be distinguished from the true limpets by the presence of an internal lateral groove on the right side along with an interruption of the internal muscle scar ring. These shell features corresponds to the positioning of pulmonary orifice. These distinguishing shell characters are not as noticeable as they are in the shells of the Siphonariidae.

Genera within the family Trimusculidae

* "Trimusculus" Schmidt, 1818
* "Gadinalea" Iredale, 1940

References

*
* Powell A. W. B., "New Zealand Mollusca", William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1