Turridae is a taxonomic family name for a number of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea.
The family name Turridae was originally given to a very large group of several thousand sea snail species that were thought to be closely related. The family was described with about 700 genus-group taxa and an estimated 10,000 recent and fossil species. However, that original grouping was discovered to be polyphyletic.
In recent years, the family Turridae has been much reduced in size, because a number of other families were created to contain the monophyletic lineages that had previously been thought to belong in the same family.
The common name turrids is still used informally to refer to the polyphyletic group.
Distribution Species in the family Turridae are found worldwide; most are found in the neritic zone. It is a major component of the Indo-Pacific molluscan fauna.
Shell description The shape of the narrow shells is more or less fusiform. The whorls are elongate to broadly spindle-shaped and conical. The shells are generally small, their length usually smaller than 150 mm (with a few exceptions, up to 250 mm). The sculpture is variable. The shell shows strong ribs and spiral ridges. The aperture is long and narrow, with a siphonal canal and an anal sinus.
Turrids are carnivorous, predatory gastropods. Most species have a poison gland used with the toxoglossan radula, used to prey on vertebrates and invertebrate animals (mostly polychaete worms) or in self-defense. Some turrids have lost the radula and the poison gland. The radula, when present, has two or three teeth in a row. It lacks lateral teeth and the marginal teeth are of the wishbone or duplex type. The teeth with a duplex form are not shaped from two distinct elements but grow from a flat plate, by thickening at the edges of the teeth and elevation of the rear edge from the membrane.
Female turrids lay their eggs in lens-shaped capsules.
History of the taxonomy The family Turridae, in the older broadest sense of the group, was in the past perceived as one of the most difficult groups to study because of a large number of supra-specific described taxa, which were complicated by their species diversity.
This led to an outcry by Melvill & Standen in 1901:
Although some species were relatively common, many were rare, some being known only from single specimens; this is another factor that made studying the group difficult. Turridiae was in this sense a heterogenous family that contained, more or less, all conoideans not included in the Conidae and Terebridae. Most of this was based on radula and shell characters. Taylor et al. (1993) tried to rely more on anatomical characters and moved several subfamilies from Turridae to Conidae.
2005 taxonomy According to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005, which attempted to set out a stable taxonomy, this family consisted of the following five subfamilies: Turrinae H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853 (1838) - synonyms: Pleurotominae Gray, 1838; Lophiotominae Morrison, 1965 (n.a.) Cochlespirinae Powell, 1942 Crassispirinae McLean, 1971 - synonym: Belinae A. Bellardi, 1875 Zemaciinae Sysoev, 2003 Zonulispirinae McLean, 1971
2011 taxonomy The 2005 classification system for the group was greatly changed by the 2011 publication of an article revising the taxonomy of the superfamily Conoidea, The authors presented a new classification of the superfamily Conoidea on the genus level, based on anatomical characters but also on the molecular phylogeny as presented by Puillandre N., et al., 2008. The polyphyletic family Turridae was resolved into 13 monophyletic families (containing 358 currently recognized genera and subgenera)Nicolas Puillandre, Renewed taxonomy : phylogeny and species delimitation in an integrative framework; Toxines et Signalisation – Toxins and Signalling, Rencontres en Toxinologie – Meeting on Toxinology, 2009, Editions de la SFET – SFET Editions Conorbidae Borsoniidae Clathurellidae Mitromorphidae Mangeliidae Raphitomidae Cochlespiridae Drilliidae Pseudomelatomidae (= Crassispiridae) Clavatulidae Horaiclavidae Turridae s.s. Strictispiridae - synonym of Pseudomelatomidae Morrison, 1966
2024 taxonomy The family was redescribed again with a generic revision in 2024 by Kantor, Y., Bouchet, P., Fedosov, A., Puillandre, N. & Zaharias, P, containing now 252 species.
Current genera Genera in the family Turridae sensu stricto, include according to WoRMS:
Alisigemmula Kantor, Bouchet, Fedosov, Puillandre & Zaharias, 2024 Anisogemmula Kantor, Bouchet, Fedosov, Puillandre & Zaharias, 2024 Annulaturris A. W. B. Powell, 1966 † Clavogemmula D. C. Long, 1981 † Coronia de Gregorio, 1890 † Coroniopsis MacNeil, 1984 Cryptogemma Dall, 1918 Deceptigemmula Kantor, Bouchet, Fedosov, Puillandre & Zaharias, 2024 † Daphnobela Cossmann, 1896 Decollidrillia Habe & Ito, 1965 † Epalxis Cossmann, 1889 Epidirella Iredale, 1913: belongs to the family Pseudomelatomidae Eugemmula Iredale, 1931 Gemmula Weinkauff, 1875 Gemmuloborsonia Shuto, 1989 † Gemmulopsis Tracey & Craig, 2019 Iotyrris Medinskaya & Sysoev, 2001: synonym of Xenuroturris Iredale, 1929 Kilburnigemmula Kantor, Bouchet, Fedosov, Puillandre & Zaharias, 2024 Kuroshioturris Shuto, 1961 Lophiotoma Casey, 1904 Lucerapex Iredale, 1936 Mcleanigemmula Kantor, Bouchet, Fedosov, Puillandre & Zaharias, 2024 † Nasavusavuia Ladd, 1982 Oliveragemmula Kantor, Bouchet, Fedosov, Puillandre & Zaharias, 2024 † Pleuroliria De Gregorio, 1890 Polystira Woodring, 1928 Powelligemmula Kantor, Bouchet, Fedosov, Puillandre & Zaharias, 2024 Pseudogemmula Kantor, Bouchet, Fedosov, Puillandre & Zaharias, 2024 Purpuraturris K. Chase, Watkins, Safavi-Hemami & B. M. Olivera, 2022: synonym of Annulaturris A. W. B. Powell, 1966 (junior subjective synonym † Pyrenoturris Eames, 1952 Shutogemmula Kantor, Bouchet, Fedosov, Puillandre & Zaharias, 2024 Taylorigemmula Kantor, Bouchet, Fedosov, Puillandre & Zaharias, 2024 Thielesyrinx Kantor, Bouchet, Fedosov, Puillandre & Zaharias, 2024 Turridrupa Hedley, 1922 Turris Röding, 1798 - type genus Unedogemmula MacNeil, 1961 Xenuroturris Iredale, 1929
Synonymy Annulaturris Powell, 1966: synonym of Turris Batsch, 1789 Austrogemmula Laseron, 1954: synonym of Epidirella Iredale, 1913 Bathybermudia Haas, 1949: synonym of Ptychosyrinx Thiele, 1925 Clamturris Iredale, 1931: synonym of Xenuroturris Iredale, 1929 Eugemmula Iredale, 1931: synonym of Gemmula Weinkauff, 1875 Euryentmena : synonym of Euryentmema Woodring, 1928 (misspelling) Lophioturris Powell, 1964: synonym of Lophiotoma Casey, 1904 Oxytropa Glibert, 1955: synonym of Polystira Woodring, 1928 Pinguigemmula McNeil, 1961: synonym of Cryptogemma Dall, 1918 Pleurotoma Lamarck, 1799: synonym of Turris Batsch, 1789 Ptychosyrinx Thiele, 1925: synonym of Cryptogemma Dall, 1918
Subfamily Strictispirinae McLean, 1971 : synonym of Strictispiridae McLean, 1971, synonym of Pseudomelatomidae Morrison, 1966 (raised to family level)
References
Further reading
{cite journal|author=Powell, A. W. B.|date=15 July 1942 |title=The New Zealand Recent and fossil Mollusca of the family Turridae with general notes on turrid nomenclature and systematics|journal= Bulletin of the Auckland Institute and Museum|volume= 2}} Powell A. W. B. (1964). "The family Turridae in the Indo-Pacific. Part 1, The subfamily Turrinae". Indo-Pacific Mollusca 1: 227–345. Morrison, J. P. E., 1966 [28 February], On the families of Turridae. The American Malacological Union. Annual Reports, for 1965: 1–2 Oyama, K., 1966, On living Japanese Turridae. Venus, 25(1): 1–20 Powell, A. W. B., 1966, The molluscan families Speightiidae and Turridae, an evaluation of the valid taxa, both Recent and fossil, with list of characteristic species. Bulletin of the Auckland Institute and Museum, 5: 184 pp., 23 pls. Powell, A. W. B., 1969 [9 September], The family Turridae in the Indo-Pacific. Part 2. The subfamily Turriculinae. Indo-Pacific Mollusca, 2(10): 207–415, pls. 188–324 Sabelli, B. & G. Spada, 1977, Guida illustrata all'identificazione delle conchiglie del Mediterraneo. Fam. Turridae I. Conchiglie, 13(3–4[Supplemento]): 2 pp., 1 pl. Kilburn R. N. (1983). "Turridae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of southern Africa and Mozambique. Part 1. Subfamily Turrinae." Ann. Natal. Mus. 25: 549–585. McLean J. (1971). "A revised classification of the family Turridae, with the proposal of new subfamilies, genera, and subgenera from the Eastern Pacific". Veliger 14: 114–130 Vera Peláez, J. L., J. Martinell & M. C. Lozano-Francisco, 1999 [June], Turridae (Gastropoda, Prosobranchia) of the Lower Pliocene from Malaga (Spain). Iberus, 17(1): 1–1 Vera peláez, J. L., 2002 [29 November], Revision de la familia Turridae, excepto Clavatulinae (Gastropoda, Prosobranchia) en el Plioceno de las cuencas de Estepona, Malaga y Velez Malaga (Malaga, S Espana) con la descripcion de 26 especies nuevas. Pliocenica, 2: 176–262 Tucker, J.K. 2004 Catalog of recent and fossil turrids (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Zootaxa 682:1-1295* Kilburn, Richard N., Alexander E. Fedosov, and Baldomero M. Olivera. "Revision of the genus Turris (Gastropoda: Conoidea: Turridae) with the description of six new species." Zootaxa 3244.1 (2012): 1
External links
W.H. Dall (1918) Notes on the nomenclature of the mollusks of the family Turritidae; Proceedings of the United States National Museum v. 54 (1918) (older) Turrid Classification
Sealifebase: Species mentioned in Tucker, J.K. 2004 Catalog of recent and fossil turrids (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Zootaxa 682:1-1295 Miocene Gastropods and Biostratigraphy of the Kern River Area, California; United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 642 Worldwide Mollusc Species Data Base: Turridae