Gastropoda, general view on the systematic:
Baicaliidae Kobelt, 1904:
The Baicaliidae were established as a family since Kobelt (1904).
Taxonomic position of the Baicaliidae in the system of Gastropoda:
| Taxonomy of the Baicaliidae (Prosobranchia) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lindholm 1909 | Thiele 1928 | Kozhov 1936 | Ponder & Warén 1988 | Sitnikova, Starob. 1999 | |
| Order | Operculata | Meso- gastropoda | Meso- gastropoda | Neo- taenioglossa | Rissoiformes |
| Superfamily | Ctenobranchia | Rissoacea | Rissoacea | Truncatelloidea | - |
| Family | Baikaliidae | Micro- melaniidae | Micro- melaniidae | Hydrobiidae | Baicaliidae |
| Subfamily | Baikaliinae | Micro- melaniinae | Baikaliinae | Baikaliinae | Baikaliinae |
| Genus | Baikalia | Baikalia | Baicalia Liobaicalia | - | 8 genera |
| Number of species | 33 | - | 33 | - | 40 |
Some characters of the teleoconch - the definitive
shell -, the turriculate shape, the presence of carinae, and transversal
ribs are similarily expressed in baicaliids as well as in pyrgulids (= Micromelaniidae)
from the Caspian Sea, which led Thiele (1928) to join both taxa as subfamilies
into the family of Pyrgulidae.
Later, the Baicaliidae were again established as a seperate
family, since anatomical investigations revealed differences in the structure
of the nervous system an the female reproduction system (Kozhov, 1951).
Ponder & Warén (1988) do not assign the Baicaliidae to the Pyrgulidae,
but as Baicaliinae to the family Hydrobiidae.
"Hanging baicaliids": Baicalia (Maackia) costata,
Baicalia herderiana, Baicalia (T.) ciliata
Baicaliid with an oligochaet Chaetogaster in the mantle cavity
According to the number of species as well as the subdividing of the family into several subfamilies and genera there are diverging opinions: Lindholm (1909) classified all species into one genus - Baicalia , which he subdivided into several subgenera. New anatomical studies led to a new system of 8 genera (Sitnikova, 1991). Recently 37 species are described (Sitnikova & Starobogatov, 1998), 26 of which could be investigated by us.
