Provannidae


Provannidae is a family of deep water sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfmaily Abyssochrysoidea.
The genera Provanna and Desbruyeresia have smaller and slender shells, while the shells of Alviniconcha and Ifremeria are larger and swollen. The shells of these two last genera house a hypertrophied ctenidium large quantities of symbiotic bacteria.

Habitat

These snails are part of the fauna of the deep-sea hydrothermal vents, cold seeps, whale falls, and sunken driftwood environments.

Taxonomy

The family Provaniidae was previously placed in the "Zygopleuroid group". This family has no subfamilies according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005.
Subsequently, Provaniidae was placed in the superfamily Abyssochrysoidea Tomlin, 1927.
There are some affinities with the Littorinoidea as shown by molecular data and sperm ultrastructure
Multi-gene analysis has shown that the family Provannidae is paraphyletic. It is being treated as belonging to the superfamily Abyssochrysoidea until a new family-level revision has been undertaken.

Genera

Genera within the family Provannidae include:
;Genera brought into synonymy: