Trinchesiidae

Trinchesiidae is a family of small, freshwater snails with a gill and an operculum, an aquatic operculated gastropod mollusk in the superfamily Lymnaeoidea. The family was named after the Italian naturalist and entomologist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, who described the type genus Trinchesia in 1777. The family Trinchesiidae is part of the suborder Lymnaeina, which includes freshwater snails with a gill and an operculum.

The family Trinchesiidae includes two genera: Trinchesia and Melanoides. Trinchesia is the type genus of the family and is characterized by its smooth shell and lack of a spiral sculpture. Melanoides, on the other hand, has a more sculptured shell and is found in the eastern United States.

The snails in the family Trinchesiidae are typically small, with a shell length of less than 10 millimeters. They are found in freshwater habitats, including ponds, lakes, and slow-moving streams. The snails in this family are herbivorous, feeding on algae and other plant material.

The family Trinchesiidae is of interest to scientists and collectors due to its unique morphology and distribution. However, there is limited information available about the biology and ecology of these snails, and further research is needed to better understand their role in freshwater ecosystems.