Family PACHYCHILIDAE

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Introduction

Pachychilidae are a freshwater cerithioidean family (Caenogastropoda) containing taxa previously placed in the Thiaridae (= Melaniidae). Pachychilids, like thiarids mostly have elongate shells of medium to large size, but are distinguished from thiarids in having a smooth mantle edge (rather than papillate), a multispiral operculum (rather than paucispiral), squarer central radular teeth and a number of anatomical differences (Glaubrecht & Rintelen 2003; Köhler & Glaubrecht 2003). The separation of these two groups is also strongly supported by molecular evidence (Lydeard et al. 2002). Some are viviparous, others oviparous. While only one genus is found in Australian territory (on two Torres Strait islands) the family is well represented in SE Asia as well as South America, Africa and Madagascar (Köhler & Glaubrecht 2002, 2003). Taxonomic decisions made below are based on Glaubrecht & Rintelen (2003),who also discuss the relationships of the Australian taxa with those in Asia.

General References

Bouchet, P. & Rocroi, J.-P. 2005. Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families. Malacologia 47: 1–397 [249]

Glaubrecht, M. & Rintelen, T.v. 2003. Systematics, molecular genetics and historical zoogeography of the vivaparous freshwater gastropod Pseudopotamis (Cerithioidea, Pachychilidae): a relic on the Torres Strait Islands, Australia. Zoologica Scripta 32(5): 415-435

Köhler, F. & Glaubrecht, M. 2002. Annotated catalogue of the nominal taxa of Southeast Asian freshwater gastropods, family Pachychilidae Troschel, 1857 (Mollusca, Caenogastropoda, Cerithioidea), with an evaluation of the types. Mitteilungen aus dem Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin Zoologische Reihe 78: 121-156

Köhler, F. & Glaubrecht, M. 2003. Morphology, reproductive biology and molecular genetics of oviviparous freshwater gastropods (Ceithioidea, Pachychilidae) from the Philippines, with the description of a new genus Jagora. Zoologica Scripta 32: 35-59

Lydeard, C., Holznagel, W.E., Glaubrecht, M. & Ponder, W.F. 2002. Molecular phylogeny of a circum-global, diverse gastropod superfamily (Cerithioidea: Mollusca: Caenogastropoda); pushing the deepest phylogenetic limits of mitochondrial LSU rDNA sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 22: 399-406

Rintelen, T.v. & Glaubrecht, M. 2003. New discoveries in old lakes: Three new species of Tylomelania Sarasin & Sarasin, 1897 (Gastropoda: Cerithioidea: Pachychilidae) from the Malili lake system on Sulawesi, Indonesia. Journal of Molluscan Studies 69: 3-17

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