Potamididae, common name

Common name

A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...

 potamidids (also horn snails or mudwhelks), are a family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 of small to large brackish water

Brackish water

Brackish water is water that has more salinity than fresh water, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing of seawater with fresh water, as in estuaries, or it may occur in brackish fossil aquifers. The word comes from the Middle Dutch root "brak," meaning "salty"...

 snails living in mangrove

Mangrove

Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...

s, gastropod molluscs of the clade

Clade

A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...

 Sorbeoconcha

Sorbeoconcha

Sorbeoconcha is a taxonomic clade of snails, i.e. gastropods, mainly marine species with gills and opercula, within the clade Caenogastropoda.The taxon Sorbeoconcha was named by Winston Ponder and David R. Lindberg in 1997.-1997 taxonomy:...

. Traditionally, potamidids and batillariids

Batillariidae

Batillariidae, common name batillariids or mudcreepers, are a family of marine, cerithioidean gastropod molluscs in the clade Sorbeoconcha.They consist of 14 living species, classified in six to eight genera....

 have been confused with each other for having similar shells and living in a similar environment. For many fossil taxa the family assignment to either of these two families

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 is still unresolved or controversial.

According to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi (2005)

Taxonomy of the Gastropoda (Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005)

The taxonomy of the Gastropoda as it was revised by Philippe Bouchet and Jean-Pierre Rocroi is currently the most up-to-date overall system for classifying gastropod mollusks...

 the family Potamididae has no subfamilies.

Ecology and Distribution

Most of the 29 living species of Potamididae show a close association with mangroves. While most species live on mudflats, some also climb mangroves trees. The distribution of Potamididae includes the Indo-West Pacific

Indo-West Pacific

The Indo-West Pacific, or IWP, is a zoogeographical region spanning the entire Indian Ocean including the Red Sea and the Pacific Ocean as far as the Caroline Islands but short of the Marshall Islands...

, the eastern Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

.

Genera

Six living and a number of fossil genera are currently recognized:

Recent genera:

• Cerithidea
  Cerithidea
  Cerithidea is a genus of medium-sized sea snails or mud snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Potamididae, the horn snails.-Species:There are three subgenera in the genus Cerithidea and species within the genus Cerithidea include:...
  
  Swainson, 1840
• Cerithideopsis Thiele, 1929
• Cerithideopsilla Thiele, 1929; containing the only recent species previously assigned to Potamides
  Potamides
  Potamides is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Potamididae.-Species:Species within the genus Potamides include:* Potamides conicus * and other extinct taxa...
  
  , C. conica.
• Telescopium
  Telescopium (gastropod)
  Telescopium is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Potamididae.-Species:Species within the genus Telescopium include:* Telescopium telescopium...
  
  Montfort, 1810
• Terebralia
  Terebralia
  Terebralia is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Potamididae.-Species:Species within the genus Terebralia include:* Terebralia palustris * Terebralia semistriata...
  
  Swainson, 1840
• Tympanotonos Schumacher, 1817

Fossil genera (fossils are difficult to differentiate from other cerithioideans

Cerithioidea

The Cerithioidea is a superfamily of marine, brackish water and freshwater gastropod containing more than 200 genera. The Cerithoidea are included in the clade Sorbeoconcha. The original name of this superfamily was Cerithiacea, in keeping with common superfamily endings at the time.- Ecology...

, such as the Batillariidae

Batillariidae

Batillariidae, common name batillariids or mudcreepers, are a family of marine, cerithioidean gastropod molluscs in the clade Sorbeoconcha.They consist of 14 living species, classified in six to eight genera....

):

• † Bittiscala Finlay & Marwick, 1937
• † Canaliscala Cossmann, 1888
• † Exechestoma Cossmann, 1899
• † Gantechinobathra Kowalke, 2001
• † Harrisianella Olson 1929
• † Potamides
  Potamides
  Potamides is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Potamididae.-Species:Species within the genus Potamides include:* Potamides conicus * and other extinct taxa...
  
  Brongniart, 1810 - type genus, its type species is extinct and the whole genus is extinct, synonym: Pirenella Gray, 1847
• † Vicarya Vicarya d'Archiac & Haimes, 1854
• † Vicaryella Yabe & Hatai, 1938