Hypselostomatidae

Hypselostomatidae
Shell of Anauchen kozari
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Stylommatophora
Superfamily:	Pupilloidea
Family:	Hypselostomatidae Zilch, 1959
Synonyms
Aulacospirinae Zilch, 1959 ·junior subjective synonym Hypselostomatinae Zilch, 1959 superseded rank

Hypselostomatidae is a family of small, air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Pupilloidea. ^[1]

General characteristics

The shell of a typical hypselostomatid ranges from conical or conical-ovoid to depressed-conical. However, the body whorl frequently becomes detached from the penultimate whorl (Hoekstra and Schilthuizen 2011; Chen et al. 2022). This separation—known as a solute or uncoiled condition—drastically alters the overall shell profile, often resulting in a trumpet-like or distorted appearance. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Distribution

Distributed mainly in Southeastern Asia,but also in India to Pakistan, China, Japan and Australia; mostly on limestone habitats.

Taxonomy

The Hypselostomatidae were originally established as a subfamily of Chondrinidae (Zilch 1959). In that same work, Zilch erected the subfamily Aulacospirinae, which was later synonymized by Schileyko (1998). Systematic placement has since remained a subject of debate: while Bouchet et al. (2017) treated the group as a subfamily of Gastrocoptidae, other authors have classified these representatives under Vertiginidae (Panha 1998; Tanmuangpak and Dumrongrojwattana 2022) or Pupillidae (Burch and Panha 2002). More recently, several authors have advocated for full family status as the Hypselostomatidae (Gojšina et al. 2022; Páll-Gergely 2023a, b). ^[4]

Shell shape variability of hypselostomatid genera (not to scale) A conical B conical-ovoid C concave-conical.

A–D detachment of the body whorl: E–J direction of the body whorl A body whorl adnate to the penultimate B body whorl slightly detached C body whorl moderately detached D body whorl strongly detached E body whorl slightly ascending F body whorl slightly descending G body whorl moderately ascending H body whorl moderately descending I body whorl strongly ascending J body whorl strongly descending

Appearance of the body whorl: A shouldered B rounded C keeled at the centre of the periphery D keeled above the centre of the periphery E keeled below the centre of the periphery F double keeled.

Genera

• Acinolaemus Thompson & Upatham, 1997
• Anauchen Pilsbry, 1917
• Angustopila Jochum, Slapnik & Páll-Gergely, 2014
• Antroapiculus Panha & Burch, 1999: synonym of AntroapiculusPanha & J. B. Burch, 2002 accepted as HypselostomaW. H. Benson, 1856 (incorrect subsequent spelling)
• Aulacospira Möllendorff, 1890
• Bensonella Pilsbry & Vanatta, 1900
• Boysia L. Pfeiffer, 1849
• Boysidia Ancey, 1881
• Clostophis Benson, 1860
• Dentisphaera Páll-Gergely & Jochum, 2017 - endemic to the caves in Northern Vietnam ^[5]
• Gyliotrachela Tomlin, 1930: synonym of HypselostomaW. H. Benson, 1856 (junior subjective synonym)
• Hypselostoma Benson, 1856 - the type genus of the family
• Krobylos Panha & Burch, 1999
• Montapiculus Panha & Burch, 1999: synonym of ClostophisW. H. Benson, 1860 (junior synonym)
• Pseudostreptaxis Möllendorff, 1890
• Tonkinospira Jochum, Slapnik & Páll-Gergely, 2014
• Paraboysidia Pilsbry, 1917: synonym of BensonellaPilsbry & Vanatta, 1900 (junior subjective synonym)

References

1. MolluscaBase eds. (2026). MolluscaBase. Hypselostomatidae Zilch, 1959. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=853767 on 2026-01-25
2. Hoekstra P, Schilthuizen M (2011) Phylogenetic relationships between isolated populations of the limestone dwelling microsnail Gyliotrachela hungerfordiana (Gastropoda: Vertiginidae). Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 49(4): 266–272
3. Chen Z-Y, Huang B, Páll-Gergely B (2022) Exceptional among the exceptional: a new species of Stenogyropsis Möllendorff, 1899 (Eupulmonata: Camaenidae), with a review of the free last whorl in terrestrial gastropods. Journal of Molluscan Studies 88: eyac015
4. Gojšina, V., Hunyadi, A., Sutcharit, C., Tongkerd, P., Auffenberg, K., Grego, J., Vermeulen, J. J., Reischütz, A. & Páll-Gergely, B. (2025). "A new start? Revision of the genera Anauchen, Bensonella, Gyliotrachela and Hypselostoma (Gastropoda, Eupulmonata, Hypselostomatidae) of Southeast Asia with description of 46 new species". Zookeys. 1235. Retrieved 25 January 2026. This article incorporates text from this source, which is under a CC BY 4.0 license.
5. Páll-Gergely, B.; Jochum, A.; Asami, T. (2017). Three new species and a new genus of Hypselostomatidae (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) from Cong Troi Cave, Northern Vietnam. Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 63(3): 327-341.

• Zilch, A. (1959-1960). Gastropoda. Teil 2. Euthyneura. In: Schindewolf, O. H. (Ed.), Handbuch der Paläozoologie, Band 6. Borntraeger, Berlin. Lfg. 1: pp. 1-200 (17 July 1959); Lfg. 2: pp. 201-400 (25 November 1959); Lfg. 3: pp. 401-600
• Schileyko, A. A. (1998). Treatise on Recent terrestrial pulmonate molluscs. Part 2. Gastrocoptidae, Hypselostomatidae, Vertiginidae, Truncatellinidae, Pachnodidae, Enidae, Sagdidae. Ruthenica. Supplement 2: 129-261. Moskva
• Panha S (1998a) [“1997”] Three new species of microsnails from southern Thailand (Pulmonata: Vertiginidae; Prosobranchia: Diplommatinidae). Malacological Review 30(1): 53–59.
• Tanmuangpak K, Dumrongrojwattana P (2022) Gyliotrachela cultura, a new species of terrestrial microsnail (Gastropoda: Eupulmonata: Vertiginidae) from Thailand. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 70: 407–416.
• Burch JB, Panha S (2002) [“2000”] The pupillid genus Anauchen in Thailand (Pulmonata: Stylommatophora). Walkerana 11(26): 239–248.

External links

• Gojšina V, Chen Z-Y, Páll-Gergely B (2022) Notes on Hypselostomatidae (Gastropoda: Eupulmonata: Pupilloidea) from Myanmar. Archiv für Molluskenkunde 151(2): 131–139.
• Gojšina, V., Hunyadi, A., Sutcharit, C., Tongkerd, P., Auffenberg, K., Grego, J., Vermeulen, J. J., Reischütz, A. & Páll-Gergely, B. (2025). "A new start? Revision of the genera Anauchen, Bensonella, Gyliotrachela and Hypselostoma (Gastropoda, Eupulmonata, Hypselostomatidae) of Southeast Asia with description of 46 new species". Zookeys. 1235. Retrieved 25 January 2026.