Rhytididae is a taxonomic family of medium-sized predatory air-breathing land snails, carnivorous terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Rhytidoidea. This family has two subfamilies:

Anatomy

In this family, the number of haploid chromosomes lies between 26 and 35 (according to the values in this table).

Distribution

This family of land snails has a range which extends from South Africa to New Guinea, some of the higher South Pacific islands, New Zealand and Australia. The New Zealand genera include Delos, Delouagapia, Paryphanta, Powelliphanta, Rhytida, Wainuia and Schizoglossa. These, however, probably do not form a monophyletic group, as indicated by their differences in their size, shape and radular morphology.

Genera

Genera within the family Rhytididae include:

Life cycle

Eggs of New Zealand's species are generally deposited in leaf mould. Eggs are usually laid from late October to early December, with exception in some species as Powelliphanta spedeni in March.