Melanopsis Temporal range: | |
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A live Melanopsis praemorsa | |
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Five views of a shell of Melanopsis buccinoidea | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Gastropoda |
Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
Family: | Melanopsidae |
Genus: | Melanopsis Férussac, 1807 [1] |
Synonyms [2] | |
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Melanopsis is a genus of freshwater snails with a gill and an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Melanopsidae. [2]
The genus first appeared in the Cretaceous. [3]
Melanopsis is the type genus of the family Melanopsidae. [4]
These snails are found in southern Europe, North Africa, Asia Minor, New Caledonia and New Zealand. [5]
Their shells are ovate, with a short spire, and a large elongated body whorl. The outer lip of the aperture is thin, but the inner lip has a smooth parietal callus, thickened into a pad over the parietal wall. [5]
![]() | This section's factual accuracy is disputed .(July 2012) |
Species within the genus Melanopsis include:
(Extinct taxa indicated by a dagger, †.)