Hypselostomatidae is a family of small, air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Pupilloidea.MolluscaBase eds. (2026). MolluscaBase. Hypselostomatidae Zilch, 1959. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=853767 on 2026-01-25
General characteristics The shell of a typical hypselostomatid ranges from conical or conical-ovoid to depressed-conical. However, the body whorl frequently becomes detached from the penultimate whorl (Hoekstra and Schilthuizen 2011; Chen et al. 2022). This separation—known as a solute or uncoiled condition—drastically alters the overall shell profile, often resulting in a trumpet-like or distorted appearance.Hoekstra P, Schilthuizen M (2011) Phylogenetic relationships between isolated populations of the limestone dwelling microsnail Gyliotrachela hungerfordiana (Gastropoda: Vertiginidae). Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 49(4): 266–272Chen Z-Y, Huang B, Páll-Gergely B (2022) Exceptional among the exceptional: a new species of Stenogyropsis Möllendorff, 1899 (Eupulmonata: Camaenidae), with a review of the free last whorl in terrestrial gastropods. Journal of Molluscan Studies 88: eyac015
Distribution Distributed mainly in Southeastern Asia, but also in India to Pakistan, China, Japan and Australia; mostly on limestone habitats.
Taxonomy The Hypselostomatidae were originally established as a subfamily of Chondrinidae (Zilch 1959). In that same work, Zilch erected the subfamily Aulacospirinae, which was later synonymized by Schileyko (1998). Systematic placement has since remained a subject of debate: while Bouchet et al. (2017) treated the group as a subfamily of Gastrocoptidae, other authors have classified these representatives under Vertiginidae (Panha 1998; Tanmuangpak and Dumrongrojwattana 2022) or Pupillidae (Burch and Panha 2002). More recently, several authors have advocated for full family status as the Hypselostomatidae (Gojšina et al. 2022; Páll-Gergely 2023a, b).
Genera Acinolaemus Thompson & Upatham, 1997 Anauchen Pilsbry, 1917 Angustopila Jochum, Slapnik & Páll-Gergely, 2014 Antroapiculus Panha & Burch, 1999: synonym of Antroapiculus Panha & J. B. Burch, 2002 accepted as Hypselostoma W. H. Benson, 1856 (incorrect subsequent spelling) Aulacospira Möllendorff, 1890 Bensonella Pilsbry & Vanatta, 1900 Boysia L. Pfeiffer, 1849 Boysidia Ancey, 1881 Clostophis Benson, 1860 Dentisphaera Páll-Gergely & Jochum, 2017 - endemic to the caves in Northern VietnamPáll-Gergely, B.; Jochum, A.; Asami, T. (2017). Three new species and a new genus of Hypselostomatidae (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) from Cong Troi Cave, Northern Vietnam. Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 63(3): 327-341. Gyliotrachela Tomlin, 1930: synonym of Hypselostoma W. H. Benson, 1856 (junior subjective synonym) Hypselostoma Benson, 1856 - the type genus of the family Krobylos Panha & Burch, 1999 Montapiculus Panha & Burch, 1999: synonym of Clostophis W. H. Benson, 1860 (junior synonym) Pseudostreptaxis Möllendorff, 1890 Tonkinospira Jochum, Slapnik & Páll-Gergely, 2014 Paraboysidia Pilsbry, 1917: synonym of Bensonella Pilsbry & Vanatta, 1900 (junior subjective synonym)
References
Zilch, A. (1959-1960). Gastropoda. Teil 2. Euthyneura. In: Schindewolf, O. H. (Ed.), Handbuch der Paläozoologie, Band 6. Borntraeger, Berlin. Lfg. 1: pp. 1–200 (17 July 1959); Lfg. 2: pp. 201–400 (25 November 1959); Lfg. 3: pp. 401–600 Schileyko, A. A. (1998). Treatise on Recent terrestrial pulmonate molluscs. Part 2. Gastrocoptidae, Hypselostomatidae, Vertiginidae, Truncatellinidae, Pachnodidae, Enidae, Sagdidae. Ruthenica. Supplement 2: 129-261. Moskva Panha S (1998a) [“1997”] Three new species of microsnails from southern Thailand (Pulmonata: Vertiginidae; Prosobranchia: Diplommatinidae). Malacological Review 30(1): 53–59. Tanmuangpak K, Dumrongrojwattana P (2022) Gyliotrachela cultura, a new species of terrestrial microsnail (Gastropoda: Eupulmonata: Vertiginidae) from Thailand. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 70: 407–416. Burch JB, Panha S (2002) [“2000”] The pupillid genus Anauchen in Thailand (Pulmonata: Stylommatophora). Walkerana 11(26): 239–248.
External links Gojšina V, Chen Z-Y, Páll-Gergely B (2022) Notes on Hypselostomatidae (Gastropoda: Eupulmonata: Pupilloidea) from Myanmar. Archiv für Molluskenkunde 151(2): 131–139.