Gastropoda, general view on the systematic:
Benedictiidae Clessin, 1880:
The Benedictiidae are considered as relatives of the family Hydrobiidae (Thiele, 1928, Kozhov, 1936, 1945, Ponder,1988, Ponder & Warén, 1988).
Taxonomic position of the Benedictiidae in the system of Gastropoda:
Benedictia fragilis
| Taxonomy of the Benedictiidae (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 | Trun- catelloida | - |
| Family | Benedictiidae | Hydrobiidae | Hydrobiidae | Hydrobiidae | Benedictiidae |
| Subfamily | Benedictiinae | Hydrobiinae | Benedictiinae | - | Benedictiinae |
| Genus | Benedictia Kobeltochlea | Benedictia Kobeltochlea | Benedictia Kobeltochlea | - | Benedictia Kobeltochlea |
| Number of species | 5 | - | 6 | - | 14 |
With a shell size of max. 4.5 cm (Benedictia pulchella, B. fragilis) they are the largest known representatives of the hydrobiids. It is not realy clear whether or not they represent a distinct family or only represent a subfamily in the hydrobiids (probably a sistergroup of the Lithoglyphinae). Two genera are classified into the Benedictiidae (Kobeltocochlea and Benedictia). Following the recent system (Sitnikova, 1987, 1995) 14 species can be distinguished by the morphology of the definitive shell. There are not in every case apomorphic characters. On our expeditions 6 species were obtained.
