Ficidae

{{Short description|Family of gastropods}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Ficus gracilis.jpg | image_caption = The shell of ''Ficus gracilis'' | parent_authority = Meek, 1864 (1840) | taxon = Ficidae | authority = Meek, 1864 (1840) | synonyms = Pyrullinae Swainson, 1840 Sycotypidae Gray, 1853 Ficulidae Carpenter, 1857 Thalassocyonidae F. Riedel, 1895. }}

'''Ficidae''', common name the '''fig shells''', are a family of medium to large marine gastropods. It is the only family in the superfamily '''Ficoidea'''.

According to taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi (2005) the family Ficidae has no subfamilies.

The shells of these snails are shaped rather like figs or pears, hence the common name.

The Ficidae were previously included in the Tonnaceae (now Tonnoidea) along with the Tonnidae and Cassididae.<ref>Keen, A.Myra 1958; Sea Shells of Tropical West America, Stanford University Press.</ref><ref>Moore, Lalicker, and Fischer 1952; Invertebrate Fossils, McGraw-Hill Book.</ref>

==Distribution== The family is found worldwide, mostly in tropical and subtropical silt and mud covered neritic zones.

==Shell description== The shells of species in the Ficidae are thin but strong. They have a large aperture and a long siphonal canal, but an extremely low spire which does not protrude above the outline of the body whorl.

Fig shells very often have subdued spiral ribbing, and are subtly patterned in shades of very pale brown and beige.

== Genera == Genera within the family Ficidae include: * ''Ficus'' Röding, 1798<ref>WoRMS (2009). ''Ficus'' Röding, 1798. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=205605 on 2010-05-20</ref> * † ''Austroficopsis'' Stilwell & Zinsmeister, 1992<ref>[https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=103209 "''Austroficopsis''"]. The Paleobiology Database, accessed 20 May 2010.</ref> * † ''Ficopsis'' Conrad, 1866<ref>[https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=9855 "''Ficopsis''"]. The Paleobiology Database, accessed 20 May 2010.</ref> * † ''Fusoficula''<ref>[https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=9874 "''Fusoficula''"]. The Paleobiology Database, accessed 20 May 2010.</ref> * † ''Gonysycon''<ref>[https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=9912 "''Gonysycon''"]. The Paleobiology Database, accessed 20 May 2010.</ref> * ''Thalassocyon'' Barnard, 1960<ref>WoRMS (2010). ''Thalassocyon'' Barnard, 1960. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=447827 on 2010-05-20</ref> ;Genera brought into synonymy: * ''Ficula'' Swainson, 1835 : synonym of Ficus Röding, 1798 * ''Pirula'' Montfort, 1810 : synonym of Ficus Röding, 1798 * ''Pyrula'' Lamarck, 1799 : synonym of Ficus Röding, 1798 * ''Sycotypus'' Gray, 1847 : synonym of Ficus Röding, 1798

==References== {{Reflist}}

== Further reading == {{Commons category|Ficidae}} * Powell A. W. B., ''New Zealand Mollusca'', William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 {{ISBN|0-00-216906-1}} * [https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0642/report.pdf Miocene Gastropods and Biostratigraphy of the Kern River Area, California; United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 642] {{PD-notice}}

Category:Ficidae