Neritidae | |
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An oblique left side view of a live Theodoxus fluviatilis | |
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Two shells of the freshwater nerite Theodoxus danubialis, scale bar in mm | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Gastropoda |
Subclass: | Neritimorpha |
Order: | Cycloneritida |
Superfamily: | Neritoidea |
Family: | Neritidae Rafinesque, 1815 |
Genera | |
See text | |
Diversity[1] | |
About 110 freshwater species, some brackish water species, and some fully marine species |
Neritidae, common name the nerites, is a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized saltwater and freshwater snails which have a gill and a distinctive operculum.[2] The family Neritidae includes marine genera such as Nerita, marine and freshwater genera such as Neritina, and freshwater and brackish water genera such as Theodoxus.
The common name "nerite" as well as the family name Neritidae and the genus name Nerita, are derived from the name of Nerites, who was a sea god in Greek mythology.