Triphoridae 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 very small sea snail

Snail

Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...

s, marine

Marine (ocean)

Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...

 gastropod molluscs in the informal group Ptenoglossa

Ptenoglossa

The Ptenoglossa is an informal taxonomic group of sea snails.It was considered paraphyletic or polyphyletic by Ponder and Lindberg in their classification of the molluscs.-Taxonomy:*Superfamily Epitonioidea**Family Epitoniidae**Family Janthinidae...

 in the clade Hypsogastropoda

Hypsogastropoda

According to the Taxonomy of the Gastropoda Hypsogastropoda is a clade of parasitic marine gastropods within the clade Caenogastropoda....

. Almost all the species in this family are micromollusk

Micromollusk

A micromollusk is a descriptive term for a shelled mollusk which is extremely small, even at full adult size. The word is usually, but not exclusively, applied to marine mollusks, although in addition, numerous species of land snails and freshwater mollusks also reach adult size at very small...

s.

Shell description

The shells

Gastropod shell

The gastropod shell is a shell which is part of the body of a gastropod or snail, one kind of mollusc. The gastropod shell is an external skeleton or exoskeleton, which serves not only for muscle attachment, but also for protection from predators and from mechanical damage...

 of triphorids are small and extremely high-spired

Spire (mollusc)

A spire is a descriptive term for part of the coiled shell of mollusks. The word is a convenient aid in describing shells, but it does not refer to a very precise part of shell anatomy: the spire consists of all of the whorls except for the body whorl...

, with numerous narrow whorls

Whorl (mollusc)

A whorl is a single, complete 360° revolution or turn in the spiral growth of a mollusc shell. A spiral configuration of the shell is found in of numerous gastropods, but it is also found in shelled cephalopods including Nautilus, Spirula and the large extinct subclass of cephalopods known as the...

 which often have distinctive sculpture. The majority of species in this family are left-handed or sinistral.

Taxonomy

The following subfamilies have been recognized in the taxonomy of Bouchet & Rocroi

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...

 of 2005:

• Iniforinae Kosuge, 1966
• Metaxiinae Marshall, 1977
• Triphorinae Gray, 1847

Genera

Genera within the family Triphoridae include:

• Aclophora
• Aclophoropsis
  Aclophoropsis
  Aclophoropsis is a genus of minute sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks or micromollusks in the family Triphoridae.These snails have small shells . They are found in Australia , Tasmania and French Polynesia-Species:Species within the genus Aclphoropsis are as follows:* Aclophoropsis festiva...
  
  
• Bifornia
• Bouchetriphora
• Brucetriphora Beu, 2004
• Cautor
  Cautor
  Cautor is a genus of minute sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks or micromollusks in the family Triphoridae.-Species:Species within the genus Cautor are as follows:* Cautor alveolata A. Adams & L. A. Reeve, 1850* Cautor baculus...
  
  Finlay
  Harold John Finlay
  Harold John Finlay was a New Zealand palaeontologist and conchologist. He was born in Comilla, India , on 22 March 1901....
  
  , 1927
• Cautotriphora Laws, 1940
• Cerithiella
  Cerithiella
  Cerithiella is a genus of minute sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Newtoniellidae. This genus was described by Verrill in 1882.-Species:Species in the genus Cerithiella include:* Cerithiella aethiopica Thiele, 1925...
  
  
• Cheirodonta
• Cosmotriphora Olsson and Harbison, 1953
• Differoforis Kosuge, 2008
• Euthymella
• Eutriphora
• Hedleytriphora
• Inella
  Inella (gastropod)
  Inella is a genus of minute sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Triphoridae.-Species:Species in the genus Inella include: * Inella apexbilirata Rolán & Fernández-Garcés, 2008* Inella compsa...
  
  
• Iniforis Jousseaume, 1884
• Isotriphora
• Latitriphora Marshall, 1983
• Litharium
• Marshallora Bouchet, 1985
• Mastonia
• Mesophora Laseron, 1958
• Metaxia
  Metaxia
  Metaxia is a genus of minute sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks or micromollusks in the family Triphoridae. -Species:Species within the genus Metaxia are as follows:* Metaxia abrupta * Metaxia albicephala Kay, 1979...
  
  Monterosato, 1884
• Monophorus
  Monophorus
  Monophorus is a genus of minute sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks or micromollusks in the family Triphoridae. -Species:Species within the genus Monophorus are as follows:* Monophorus alboranensis Rolán & Peñas, 2001...
  
  
• Notosinister
• Nototriphora
• Obesula
• Pogonodon
  Pogonodon
  Pogonodon is an extinct genus of the family Nimravidae, subfamily Nimravinae endemic to North America and Eurasia during the Eocene-Miocene epochs , existing for approximately ..-Taxonomy:Pogonodon was named by Cope...
  
  Bouchet, 1997
• Sagenotriphora B.A. Marshall, 1983
• Seilarex
• Similiphora Bouchet, 1985
• Strobiligera Dall, 1924
• Subulophora
• Teretriphora
  Teretriphora
  Teretriphora, is a genus of small marine gastropod mollusks in the family Triphoridae.-Species:Species within the genus Teretriphora include:* Teretriphora distorta * Teretriphora gemmegens...
  
  Finlay
  Harold John Finlay
  Harold John Finlay was a New Zealand palaeontologist and conchologist. He was born in Comilla, India , on 22 March 1901....
  
  , 1927
• Torresophora
• Triforis
• Triphora de Blainville, 1828
• Triphoras
• Tropidoturris
• Viriola Jousseaume, 1884
• Viriolopsis

Genera brought into synonymy :

• Distophora Laseron, 1958 : synonym of Cautor Finlay, 1927
• Euthymia Jousseaume, 1884 : synonym of Euthymella Thiele, 1929
• Orbitophora Laseron, 1958 : synonym of Viriola Jousseaume, 1884
• Risbecia Kosuge, 1966 : synonym of Differoforis Kosuge, 2008
• Tetraphora Laseron, 1958 : synonym of Brucetriphora Beu, 2004
• Triphoris : synonym of Triphora Blainville, 1828