• Source: Cerithiidae

Cerithiidae, common name the cerithiids or ceriths, is a large family of medium-sized marine gastropods in the clade Sorbeoconcha.




Distribution


Ceriths are found worldwide on sandy bottoms, reef flats or coral reef rock covered with sand and algae in the sublittoral zone of warm or temperate waters. Most are found in tropical areas. A few occur along the European coastline and about 30 species in two genera are found along the American coast. A few species occur in estuarine areas of mangrove forests close to the sea. Only a few species of the subfamily Bittiinae are found in deep water.




Diet


Ceriths are herbivores and detritivores that graze the sea bed.




Description


Their slender shell is elongated with a pointed spire. They vary in size from 3 mm (Bittium alternatum) to 150 mm (Cerithium nodulosum). The smallest shells are found in the subfamily Bittiinae.
The many whorls have radial sculpture with axial ridges and nodules. The aperture shows at its base a vague curve or a distinct siphonal canal. The aperture is closed off by a thin oval brown operculum that is corneous and paucispiral. The palatal wall of the aperture is somewhat enlarged and often shows a varix.
The taenioglossan radula has seven teeth in each row. The single rachidian tooth is flanked on each side by one rhomboidal lateral tooth and two long, hook-like marginal teeth.




Taxonomy






= Subfamilies

=
The following three subfamilies have been recognized in the taxonomy of Bouchet & Rocroi (2005):

Alabininae Dall, 1927
Bittiinae Cossmann, 1906
Cerithiinae Fleming, 1822 - synonyms: Rhinoclavinae Gründel, 1982; Colininae Golikov & Starobogatov, 1987
Bandel (2006) used different classification: Bittiinae on its own family level named Diastomatidae (overview of WoRMS).
Some authors classify Argyropezinae Bandel, 2006 as a synonym of Bittiinae.




= Genera

=
The following genera are recognised in the family Cerithiidae:




References



Houbrick R. S. (1978). The family Cerithiidae in the Indo-Pacific. Part 1. The genera Rhinoclavis, Pseudovertagus and Clavocerithium. Monographs of Marine Mollusca 1: 1–130.
Houbrick R. S. (1992). Monograph of the genus Cerithium Bruguiere in the Indo-Pacific (Cerithiidae--Prosobranchia). 211 p., Smithsonian Institution Press (Washington, D.C.)], PDF.
Wood, Elvira. The Phylogeny of Certain Cerithidae, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Volume XXIV, New York, May 1910, pp. 1–92, Pl. I-IX.




External links


Miocene Gastropods and Biostratigraphy of the Kern River Area, California; United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 642 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
Houbrick, Richard S. "Phylogenetic relationships and generic review of the Bittiinae (Prosobranchia: Cerithioidea)." Malacologia (1993).
Media related to Cerithiidae at Wikimedia Commons

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Cerithiidae
• Sorbeoconcha
• Zebittium
• Cerithium echinatum
• Cerithium buzzurroi
• Clypeomorus bifasciata
• Cerithium vulgatum
• Cerithium caeruleum
• Fastigiella carinata
• Limatium