Provannidae
Provannidae is a family of deep water sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfmaily Abyssochrysoidea.
The genera Provanna and Desbruyeresia have smaller and slender shells, while the shells of Alviniconcha and Ifremeria are larger and swollen. The shells of these two last genera house a hypertrophied ctenidium large quantities of symbiotic bacteria.
Habitat
These snails are part of the fauna of the deep-sea hydrothermal vents, cold seeps, whale falls, and sunken driftwood environments.Taxonomy
The family Provaniidae was previously placed in the "Zygopleuroid group". This family has no subfamilies according to the Taxonomy of the Gastropoda (Bouchet & [Rocroi, 2005)|taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005].Subsequently, Provaniidae was placed in the superfamily Abyssochrysoidea Tomlin, 1927.
There are some affinities with the Littorinoidea as shown by molecular data and sperm ultrastructure
Multi-gene analysis has shown that the family Provannidae is paraphyletic. It is being treated as belonging to the superfamily Abyssochrysoidea until a new family-level revision has been undertaken.
Genera
Genera within the family Provannidae include:Alviniconcha Okutani & Ohta, 1988Cordesia Warén & Bouchet, 2009 - with the only species Cordesia provannoides Warén & Bouchet, 2009Desbruyeresia Warén & Bouchet, 1993Ifremeria Bouchet & Warén, 1991- * Ifremeria nautilei - this species has endosymbiotic bacteria, which provide "food" via chemoautotrophy.Provanna Dall, 1918Rubyspira Johnson et al., 2010