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Phylogeny of Cerithioidean Snails

Research Scientist: Dr Winston Ponder

Cerithioideans comprise a large group of whelk-like snails that are common and conspicuous in many shallow water marine environments. The fifteen families in the group occupy diverse habitats and exhibit a wide range of morphology, biology and ecology. Most families are marine, but some groups are found in freshwater. Most have a long-spired shell but shells of some are short and rounded. Members of the Potamididae and Batellariidae are common on mud flats and amoungst mangroves. The largest family, Cerithiidae, like most of the other families, is found mostly in shallow water tropical environments. The Turritellidae, another very diverse group, are filter feeders living mainly on muddy bottoms on the Continental Shelf and Slope. Some families have members that are all small, others are always of large size.

The freshwater groups are rather poorly understood but comprise several unrelated families, some of which have undergone extensive radiations in lakes and rivers in various parts of the world. A primary objective of this study is to determine the relationships of the freshwater groups. The only family present in Australia is the Thiaridae.

Some marine cerithioideans are small in size and often abundant in shallow marine or estuarine habitats. Such groups include the Scaliolidae, Dialidae and Litiopidae.

The evolution of the group is being investigated using anatomy, sperm ultrastructure and molecular data with collaborators in Brisbane (Dr J. Healy, University of Queensland), Germany (Dr M. Glaubrecht, Humbolt University Museum, Berlin), Brazil (Dr L. Simone, Univesity of Säo Paulo) and the USA (Dr. C. Lydeard, University of Alabama).

Publications from this project

1. Ponder, W.F. (1988) Bioluminescence in Hinea braziliana (Lamarck) (Gastropoda: Planaxidae). Journal of Molluscan Studies, 54:
2. Ponder, W.F. (1991). The anatomy of Diala, with an assessment of its taxonomic position (Mollusca: Cerithioidea). Proceedings of the Marine Biology Workshop, Albany 2: 499-519.
3. Ponder, W.F., de Keyzer, R. (1992) A revision of the genus Diala (Gastropoda; Cerithioidea; Dialidae). Invertebrate Taxonomy, 6:1019-1075.
4. Ponder, W.F. (1993) A new cerithiid from south Western Australia (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Caenogastropoda: Cerithiidae). Proceedings of the Fifth International Marine Biological Workshop, Rottnest Island, 1: 267-277.
5. Ponder, W.F. (1994) The anatomy and relationships of Finella and Scaliola (Caenogastropoda: Cerithioidea: Scaliolidae). Malacofauna of Hong Kong and Southern China, 3, Morton, B. (ed), Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong. pp. 215-241.

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