Helicininae

Helicininae is a subfamily of minute land snails and slugs, gastropod mollusks in the family Helicinidae. This subfamily is primarily found in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. The Helicininae snails are often characterized by their minute size, typically ranging between 0.5 and 2.5 millimeters in diameter. They are known to inhabit humid, shaded environments, such as rainforests and tropical woodlands.

Helicininae snails are supported by a tiny foot which often lacks a foot gland and lacks or has a weak retractable foot lobe. Their shell morphology often features a single whorl, or sometimes two whorls, which are spiral-continuous without any sutures. Furthermore, the aperture of the Helicininae snails is typically relatively small in comparison to the rest of the shell.

This subfamily of Helicinidae has been defined through both morphological and genetic means. The classification of the subfamily Helicininae has undergone revisions, with some authors restricting its members to the four species: Pseudostreptaxis, Carbonies, Spirapex, and Glenetra. Members of the Helicininae subfamily display variety in their morphology, having conformal spiral, or those having axial and lateral ridges.

One of the defining characteristics of the Helicininae is their setae, which group is generally distinct from that of the rest of Helicinidae. This allows them to be recognized as particular in contrast. The manipulation and classification of these snails are mainly associated with by experts in the field of malacology. The research of Helicininae is associated with the island tropical ecosystem that it inhabits, particularly on islands and island groups of Central and South America.