FAUXULIDAE HARL & PÁLL-GERGELY, 2017

Harl, Josef, Haring, Elisabeth, Asami, Takahiro, Sittenthaler, Marcia, Sattmann, Helmut & Páll-Gergely, Barna, 2017, Molecular systematics of the land snail family Orculidae reveal polyphyly and deep splits within the clade Orthurethra (Gastropoda: Pulmonata), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 181, pp. 778-794 : 790

FAMILY FAUXULIDAE HARL & PÁLL-GERGELY FAM. NOV.

Type genus: Fauxulus Schaufuss, 1869 in Paetel & Schaufuss, 1869; nom. nov. pro Faula ( Adams & Adams, 1855 in Adams, 1853–1858), type species: Pupa capensis Küster, 1841 (subsequent designation by Martens, 1860).

Included genera: Fauxulus Schaufuss, 1869 (with the subgenera Afriboysidi a Zilch, 1939, Anisoloma Ancey, 1901, Fauxulella Pilsbry, 1917 and Tomigerella Pfeiffer, 1878 ).

Diagnosis: Shell sinistral or dextral, elongate-ovate, conic or fusiform; peristome strongly expanded and reflexed; protoconch smooth or spirally striated; teleoconch smooth to ribbed; parietal and angular lamellae strong, but short; columellar lamella present, sometimes also with additional lamellae/denticles; several additional, mostly tuberiform denticles and teeth present; penial appendix absent; penial caecum present or absent; diverticulum of bursa copulatrix absent.

Distribution: South, southwest and southeast Africa, Madagascar.

Remarks: Fauxulus and its subgenera were classified within the Odontocycladinae (family Orculidae ) by Hausdorf (1996) and Schileyko (1998). Our molecular phylogeny indicates that these genera are not closely related to Orculidae . Instead, they form a more basal lineage within Orthurethra. Therefore, a new family, Fauxulidae fam. nov., is erected for the five former orculid genus-group taxa from Africa and Madagascar.