| Pomatiidae | |
|---|---|
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| Apertural view of a shell and an operculum of the land snail Tudorella sulcata in the family Pomatiidae | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Order: | Littorinimorpha |
| Superfamily: | Littorinoidea |
| Family: | Pomatiidae Newton, 1891 (1828) |
| Genera | |
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See text | |
| Synonyms | |
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The family Pomatiidae is a taxonomic family of small operculate land snails, terrestrial gastropod mollusks that can be found over the warmer parts of the Old World. In the older literature, this family is designated as Pomatiasidae.
This family is a lineage closely related to the Littorinidae (periwinkles) common in coastal habitat. They have adapted to terrestrial life and are thus sometimes called "land winkles".[1]
They are defined by a chalky operculum at the rear end of the body, the shape of their thick shell and their mouth and a characteristic spiral sculpture. The sexes are separate and can sometimes be recognised because the female shell is slightly larger than the male shell.
- ^ Journal of Molluscan Studies, GENETIC AND MORPHOLOGICAL VARIATION IN THE LAND WINKLE POMATIAS ELEGANS (MÜLLER) (CAENOGASTROPODA: POMATIASIDAE) Volume 67, Issue 2, pp 145–152 (http://mollus.oxfordjournals.org/content/67/2/145.abstract) Accessed 2014-9-2