Rathouisiidae is a family of carnivorous air-breathing land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Veronicelloidea, the leatherleaf slugs and their allies.
This family has no subfamilies according to the Taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005.
The scientific name Rathouisiidae is based on the name of the type genus, Rathouisia which in turn was named in honor of the French Jesuit Père Charles Rathouis (1834–1890), who made scientific drawings for Pierre Marie Heude.Heude P. M. (1883). "Note sur un Limacien nouveau de Chine". Journal de Conchyliologie 31: 394–395.
Genera Genera within the family Rathouisiidae include: Atopos Simroth, 1891 Simroth H. (1891). "Über das Vaginuludengenus Atopos n. g.". Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Zoologie 52: 593–616. plate 37. page 593. Barkeriella Granulilimax Minato, 1989 Rathouisia Heude, 1884 – type genus of the family
Distribution The predatory carnivorous slugs in the genus Atopos are found in peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, New Guinea, northeast Australia and, recently, Singapore.
Feeding habits Rathouisiidae are carnivorous and feed on other gastropods, but also on fungi and plants.Barker G. M. (2001) Gastropods on Land: Phylogeny, Diversity and Adaptive Morphology. 1–146. In: Barker G. M. (ed.) (2001) The biology of terrestrial molluscs. CABI Publishing, Oxon, UK, cited pages: 69. .
Bornean Atopos specialising in Opisthostoma are known to tailor their approach to the size of the prey. They hold small snails with the shells aperture-upward with the front of its foot and eat their way down. Larger ones scrape away the shell to allow access through the spire. This behaviour is thought to drive the evolution of shell ornamentation in Opisthostoma.Tan S. K. & Chan S-Y. (2009). "New records of predatory slugs from Singapore with notes on their feeding behaviour". Nature in Singapore 2: 1–7. PDF.
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