Neomphaloidea is a superfamily of deep-sea snails or limpets, marine gastropodmollusks. Neomphaloidea is the only superfamily in the order Neomphalida.
The order Neomphalida has the largest in situ radiation in hydrothermal vent habitats. Neomphalida is a major taxonomic grouping of sea snails, vent-endemic marine gastropod mollusks that form a very ancient lineage, going back to the Palaeozoic era.
Molecular phylogeny showed that Neomphaloidea belongs in its own order, the Neomphalida, and that this clade is basal to the Vetigastropoda.[3] The Neomphalina is, based on optimal phylogenetic analysis, a monophyletic clade, with uncertain relations among the gastropods.[4][5]
Description
The anatomical characteristics of the Neomphaloidea largely follow the patterns in the Vetigastropoda. However, unusual morphological and phylogentic characters suggest a different systematic position and place it in its own order, the Neomphalida. The formal placement of Neomphalida within the Gastropoda however remains ambiguous.[5]
The other superfamily of hydrothermal vent limpets is the Lepetodriloidea.
References
^McLean J. H. (8 December 1981). "The Galapagos rift limpet Neomphalus: relevance to understanding the evolution of a major paleozoic-mesozoic radiation". Malacologia21(1-2): 291-336.