The gastropods, more commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca, called Gastropoda. This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from the land. There are many thousands of species of sea snails and slugs, as well as freshwater snails, freshwater limpets, and land snails and slugs.
Heterobranchia, the heterobranchs, is a taxonomic clade of snails and slugs, which includes marine, aquatic and terrestrial gastropod mollusks.
Caenogastropoda is a taxonomic clade, a large diverse group which are mostly sea snails and other marine gastropod mollusks, but also includes some freshwater snails and some land snails.
Sorbeoconcha is a taxonomic clade of snails, i.e. gastropods, mainly marine species with gills and opercula, within the clade Caenogastropoda.
Hypsogastropoda is a clade containing marine gastropods within the clade Caenogastropoda.
Neritoidea is a taxonomic superfamily of mostly sea snails, nerites and their allies, marine gastropod mollusks in the clade Cycloneritimorpha.
Helicoidea is a taxonomic superfamily of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the clade Stylommatophora.
Pupillidae is a family of mostly minute, air-breathing, land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks or micromollusks in the superfamily Pupilloidea.
Cystiscidae is a taxonomic family of minute sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks or micromollusks.
The taxonomy of the Gastropoda as it was revised in 2005 by Philippe Bouchet and Jean-Pierre Rocroi is a system for the scientific classification of gastropod mollusks. The paper setting out this taxonomy was published in the journal Malacologia. The system encompasses both living and extinct groups, as well as some fossils whose classification as gastropods is uncertain.
Pyramidelloidea is a superfamily of mostly very small sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks and micromollusks within the clade Panpulmonata.
Neritimorpha is a taxonomic grouping, an unranked clade of snails, gastropod mollusks. This grouping includes land snails, sea snails, some deepwater limpets, and also freshwater snails. This clade used to be known as the superorder Neritopsina.
Doridacea is a taxonomic grouping of dorid nudibranchs, shell-less marine gastropod mollusks. included in the clade Euctenidiacea of the clade Nudibranchia.
Pupilloidea is a superfamily of small and very small air-breathing land snails, terrestrial gastropod mollusks in the informal group Orthurethra.
The Plakobranchacea are a taxonomic family of sea slugs, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Sacoglossa.
Hygrophila is a taxonomic clade of air-breathing freshwater snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusks within the clade Panpulmonata.
Freshwater snails are gastropod mollusks which live in freshwater. There are many different families. They are found throughout the world in various habitats, ranging from ephemeral pools to the largest lakes, and from small seeps and springs to major rivers. The great majority of freshwater gastropods have a shell, with very few exceptions. Some groups of snails that live in freshwater respire using gills, whereas other groups need to reach the surface to breathe air. In addition, some are amphibious and have both gills and a lung. Most feed on algae, but many are detritivors and some are filter feeders.
Jean-Pierre Rocroi is a French malacologist, a scientist, a zoologist who studies mollusks. He works at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris.
A selenizone is an anatomical structure that exists in the shells of some families of living sea snails: the slit shells, the little slit shells and the abalones, which are marine gastropod mollusks from ancient lineages.
