Ovulidae

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Spiralia
Cladus: Lophotrochozoa
Phylum: Mollusca
Classis: Gastropoda
Subclassis: Caenogastropoda
Ordo: Littorinimorpha
Superfamilia: Cypraeoidea

Familia: Ovulidae
Subfamilia (6): Aclyvolvinae – Eocypraeinae – Ovulinae - Pediculariinae – Simniinae – Sulcocypraeinae

Genera Incertae sedis (1 + 2†): Habruprionovolva – †Cypraeogemmula – †Projenneria
Overview of genera (46 + 19†)

Aclyvolva – Archivolva – Calcarovula – Calpurnus – Carpiscula – Contrasimnia – Crenavolva – Cuspivolva – Cymbovula – Cyphoma – Dentiovula – Diminovula – Dissona – Globovula – Habruprionovolva – Habuprionovolva – Hiatavolva – Jenneria – Kurodavolva – Kuroshiovolva – Lunovula – Margovula – Naviculavolva – Neosimnia – Olianatrivia – Ovula – Pedicularia – Pedicypraedia – Pellasimnia – Phenacovolva – Primovula – Prionovolva – Procalpurnus – Prosimnia – Pseudocypraea – Pseudosimnia – Quasisimnia – Rotaovula – Sandalia – Serratovolva – Simnia – Simnialena – Sphaerocypraea – Takasagovolva – Testudovolva – Volva – †Allmoniella – †Apiocypraea – †Cypraedia – †Cypraeogemmula – †Cypraeopsis – †Cypropterina – †Eocypraea – †Eotrivia – †Eschatocypraea – †Eucypraedia – †Grovesia – †Lozouetina – †Luponovula – †Oxycypraea – †Projenneria – †Sulcocypraea – †Taviania – †Willungia – †Transovula
Name

Ovulidae Fleming, 1822

Type Genus: Ovula Bruguière, 1789

References

Fleming, 1822: The philosophy of zoology, 2: 490
Fehse, Dirk, 2007, Contributions to the knowledge of Ovulidae. XVI. The higher systematics. (Mollusca, Gastropoda). Spixiana 30 (1): 121–125. [1]
Fehse, Dirk, 2007, Contributions to the knowledge of Ovulidae. XVII. A second Cyphoma Röding, 1798 from the eastern Pacific (Mollusca, Gastropoda). Spixiana 30 (1): 127–131.. [2]
Fehse, Dirk, 2007, Contributions to the knowledge of Ovulidae. XVIII. A new Crenavolva Cate, 1973 from New Caledonia (Mollusca, Gastropoda). Spixiana 30 (1): 133–134. [3]

Links

Ovulidae in the World Register of Marine Species

Vernacular names
English: Cowry Allies, False Cowries

Ovulidae, common names the ovulids, cowry allies or false cowries, is a family of small to large predatory or parasitic sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Cypraeoidea, the cowries and the cowry allies. [1]
Distribution

The ovulids are a widespread family, occurring mostly in tropical and subtropical waters, with most species in the Indo-West Pacific region. But a few species live in temperate waters.
Habitat
Dentiovula dorsuosa camouflaged on a soft coral.

Ovulids are carnivorous molluscs that feed on polyps and tissues of Anthozoa (as do the genera Cyphoma and Pseudocyphoma). They live on, and eat, soft corals and sea fans, and they are usually regarded as ectoparasites of these sessile colonial organisms, to which they are anchored by a long and narrow foot. This extreme specialisation in their alimentary regime has caused important morphological modifications to their radula.[2][3]
Shell description

Ovulids mostly have smooth shiny shells with a very long aperture and a very low or invisible spire. The shell can be pyriform (shaped like a pear), ovate (egg-shaped) to sub-ovate, cylindrical or lanceolate (lance-shaped).

The shell is often monochromatic white, but in some species the shell is pink or reddish.

In a few species of ovulids, the shell quite closely resembles that of cowries. However in many other species, the shells are so elongate that they do not so much resemble the shells of that closely related family.

When these snails are alive, the mantle completely covers the shell almost all of the time. Pictures of living animals usually show the brightly colored and decorated mantle, which looks very different from the often rather plain, shiny surface of the shell.

The color patterns of the mantle closely resemble the color patterns of the host species. This is due to the phenomenon of "alimentary homochromy" (obtaining the same color as the host by feeding on the host). This phenomenon gives them a remarkable camouflage ability.
Taxonomy
2005 taxonomy

The following five subfamilies have been recognized in the taxonomy of Bouchet & Rocroi (2005):

Ovulinae Fleming, 1822
tribe Ovulini Fleming, 1822 – synonyms: Amphiperatidae Gray, 1853; Simniini Schilder, 1927; Volvini Schilder, 1932
tribe Eocypraeini Schilder, 1924 – synonym: Sulcocypraeini Schilder, 1932
† Cypraediinae Schilder, 1927
Jenneriinae Thiele, 1929 – synonym: Cyproglobinini Schilder, 1932
Pediculariinae Gray, 1853
Pseudocypraeinae Steadman & Cotton, 1943

See also Schiaparelli et al. (2005).[4]
2007 taxonomy

Fehse (2007)[5] have elevated subfamily Pediculariinae to family Pediculariidae and tribe Eocypraeini to family Eocypraeidae both to family level based on morphological research of the radulae, shell and animal morphology and the molecular phylogeny research of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene.[5] Subsequently he has established new subfamilies Prionovolvinae and Aclyvolvinae.[5]

family Ovulidae

subfamily Eocypraeinae F. A. Schilder, 1924
subfamily Prionovolvinae Fehse, 2007
subfamily Simniinae Schilder, 1925
subfamily Ovulinae Fleming, 1828
subfamily Aclyvolvinae Fehse, 2007

Genera

Genera within the family Ovulidae include:

Subfamily Eocypraeinae F. A. Schilder, 1924 (synonym: Prionovolvinae Fehse, 2007)

Adamantia Cate, 1973:[5] synonym of Diminovula Iredale, 1930
† Allmoniella Dolin & Dockery, 2018
Amonovula Fehse, 2019
† Apiocypraea F. A. Schilder, 1927
Archivolva F. Lorentz, 2009[6]
Calpurnus Montfort, 1810<[5]
Carpiscula Cate, 1973[5]
Crenavolva Cate, 1973[5]
Cuspivolva Cate, 1973[5]
Dentiovula Hinds, 1844[5]
Diminovula Iredale, 1930[5]
† Eocypraea Cossmann, 1903
† Eotrivia Schilder, 1924
† Eschatocypraea Schilder, 1966
Globovula Cate, 1973[5]
† Grovesia Dolin & Ledon, 2002
Habuprionovolva Azuma, 1970[5]
Lacrima Cate, 1973[5]
† Oxycypraea F. A. Schilder, 1927
Primovula Thiele, 1925[5]
Prionovolva Iredale, 1930[5]
Procalpurnus Thiele, 1939[5]
Prosimnia Schilder, 1925[5]
Pseudosimnia Schilder, 1925[5]
Rotaovula Cate & Azuma in Cate, 1973[5]
Sandalia Cate, 1973[5]
Serratovolva Cate, 1973[5]
† Taviania Dolin & Pacaud, 2009
Stohleroma Cate, 1973:[5] synonym of Cuspivolva C. N. Cate, 1973
Testudovolva Cate, 1973[5]

Subfamily Simniinae Schilder, 1925

Cymbovula Cate, 1973[5]
Cyphoma Röding, 1798[5]
Dissona Cate, 1973[5]
Neosimnia Fischer, 1884[5] – synonym: Spiculata Cate, 1973
Pseudocyphoma Cate, 1973[5]
Simnia Risso, 1826[5]
Simnialena Cate, 1973[5]

Phenacovolva rosea from East Timor.

Subfamily Ovulinae Fleming, 1828

Calcarovula Cate, 1973[5]
Kurodavolva Azuma, 1987[5]
Ovula Bruguière, 1789[5]
Pellasimnia Iredale, 1931[5]
Phenacovolva Iredale, 1930[5]
Takasagovolva Azuma, 1974[5]
Volva Röding, 1798[5]
Xandarovula Cate, 1973[5]

Subfamily Aclyvolvinae

Aclyvolva Cate, 1973[5]
Hiatavolva Cate, 1973[5]
Kuroshiovolva Azuma & Cate, 1971[5]

subfamily placement?

Amonovula (Petuch, 1973)[7]
Aperiovula Cate, 1973[citation needed]
Delonovolva Cate, 1973[citation needed]
Subsimnia[citation needed]

References

MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Ovulidae J. Fleming, 1822. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1747 on 2020-05-25
Thiele J. (1929). Handbuch der Systematischen Weichtierkunde, 1. Fischer, Jena, 376 pp.
Vayssière A. (1923). "Recherches zoologiques et anatomiques sur les mollusques de la famille des Cypraeidés, 1ère partie". Annales du Musée d’Histoire naturelle de Marseille Zoologie 18(1921): 1–120. Plates 1–14.
Schiaparelli, S.; Barucca M.; Olmo E.; Boyer M.; Canapa A. (2005). "Phylogenetic relationships within Ovulidae (Gastropoda: Cypraeoidea) based on molecular data from the 16S rRNA gene". Marine Biology. 147 (2): 411–420. Bibcode:2005MarBi.147..411S. doi:10.1007/s00227-005-1566-0. S2CID 85420879.
Fehse D. (2007). "Contributions to the knowledge of the Ovulidae. XVI. The higher systematics". Spixiana 30(1): 121–125. PDF Archived 2012-03-02 at the Wayback Machine.
Lorentz, F. (2009-05-28). "Archivolva". Ovulidae.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2010-01-01.

Bouchet, Philippe (2020). "Amonovula piriei (Petuch, 1973)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 13 February 2021.