Latrogastropoda


Latrogastropoda is a clade of gastropods, considered a superorder, in the subclass Caenogastropoda. It was originally proposed in 2000 by Frank Riedel to unite the predominantly predatory "higher" caenogastropod groups. Latrogastropoda includes both the order Neogastropoda and some taxa classified in the paraphyletic order Littorinimorpha. Latrogastropoda is equivalent to the "siphonate group" of caenogastropods recognized by Ponder and colleagues in 2008. The non-neogastropod latrogastropods are broadly equivalent to the Neomesogastropoda. The name Strombogastropoda was proposed by Simone in 2011 for a clade uniting stromboids with neogastropods and their close relatives, and is equivalent to Ponder and colleagues' concept of Latrogastropoda.

Included taxa

Formerly included groups

  • Naticoidea: Though Naticoidea was originally included in Latrogastropoda by Riedel, it was excluded from Latrogastropoda by Bouchet and colleagues in 2017 and phylogenetic analyses have shown Naticoidea to be closely related to Littorinidae.
  • Hipponicidae: Hipponicidae was included in Calyptraeoidea by Riedel in 2000, but is now regarded as belonging to a separate superfamily, Hipponicoidea, and excluded from Latrogastropoda.

Evolutionary history

Fossils recognizable as latrogastropods due to their protoconch are known as far back as the Aptian stage of the Cretaceous. Tonnoidea and Neogastropoda are potentially descendants of the Purpurinidae, which date to the Triassic. The earliest known cypraeids date to the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic.