Valvatidae, the valve snails, is a taxonomic family of very small freshwater snails with an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks.

Taxonomy

The family Valvatidae has no subfamilies (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005).

Genera

The type genus of this family is Valvata O.F. Müller, 1774.

Genera in the family Valvatidae include:

  • Andrussovia Brusina, 1903
  • Borysthenia Lindholm, 1933
  • Costovalvata Polinski, 1932
  • Liratina Lindholm, 1906[citation needed]
  • Megalovalvata Lindholm, 1906
  • Valvata Müller, 1774 Cincinna Hübner, 1810 - It is recognized either as genus of a subgenus of Valvata.

Ecology

Snails in the family Valvatidae are useful for measuring water quality as biological indicators. According to the Biological monitoring working party they have a score of 3, which means that they have quite a high tolerance to pollutants.[citation needed]

Haszprunar G (2014) A nomenclator of extant and fossil taxa of the Valvatidae (Gastropoda, Ectobranchia). ZooKeys 377: 1–172.

Further reading

  • Hannibal H. (1910). Valvatidae of the Western North America. The Nautilus, -107.