Melongenidae

Melongenidae
A live Melongena corona in the process of rolling over using its operculum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Neogastropoda
Superfamily:	Buccinoidea
Family:	Melongenidae Gill, 1871 (1854)
Genera
See text

The Melongenidae, the crown conchs, busycon whelks and their relatives, are a taxonomic family of large to very large marine gastropods in the clade Neogastropoda.

Taxonomy

The genera Busycon and Busycotypus were previously placed in the Melongenidae.^[1] However, based on their digestive systems and on cladistic analysis by Kosyan & Kantor (2004),^[1] these two genera have been moved to the family Buccinidae.

According to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi (2005), the family Melongenidae consists of two subfamilies:

• Subfamily Melongeninae Gill, 1871 (1854) - synonyms: Cassidulidae Gray, 1854 (inv.); Galeodidae Thiele, 1925 (inv.); Volemidae Winckworth, 1945; Heligmotomidae Adegoke, 1977
• Subfamily Echinofulgurinae Petuch, 1994

Genera

Genera in the family Melongenidae include:^[2]

• Fulguropsis Marks, 1950
• Hemifusus Swainson, 1840
• Melongena Schumacher, 1817 - crown conchs
• Pugilina Schumacher, 1817
• Saginafusus Wenz, 1943
• Taphon H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853
• Volegalea Iredale, 1938
• Volema Röding, 1798

Genera brought into synonymy

• Cassidulus Gray, 1854: synonym of Pugilina Schumacher, 1817
• Galeodes Röding, 1798 : synonym of Melongena Schumacher, 1817
• Semifusus Agassiz, 1846 synonym of Hemifusus Swainson, 1840

References

1. Kosyan A. R. & Kantor Yu. I. (2004). "Morphology, taxonomic status and relationships of Melongenidae (Gastropoda: Neogastropoda)". Ruthenica 14(1): 9-36. abstract and preview
2. "Melongenidae". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.