Ficidae

Ficidae
The shell of Ficus gracilis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Littorinimorpha
Superfamily: Ficoidea
Meek, 1864 (1840)
Family: Ficidae
Meek, 1864 (1840)
Synonyms

Pyrullinae Swainson, 1840
Sycotypidae Gray, 1853
Ficulidae Carpenter, 1857
Thalassocyonidae F. Riedel, 1895.

Ficidae, common name the fig shells are a family of medium to large marine gastropods. It is the only family in the superfamily Ficoidea.

According to taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi (2005) the family Ficidae has no subfamilies.

The shells of these snails are shaped rather like figs or pears, hence the common name.

The Ficidae were previously included in the Tonnaceae (now Tonnoidea) along with the Tonnidae and Cassididae.[1][2]

  1. ^ Keen, A.Myra 1958; Sea Shells of Tropical West America, Stanford University Press.
  2. ^ Moore, Lalicker, and Fischer 1952; Invertebrate Fossils, McGraw-Hill Book.