Phylogeny of the land snail family Clausiliidae (Gastropoda: Pulmonata)

► Phylogenetic relationships within the land snail family Clausiliidae were studied using 28S rRNA, and histone H3 and H4. ► The family consists of seven clades, of which only three were hitherto recognized as subfamilies. ► Shell-morphological characters used in previous classifications are highly homoplasious or need to be reinterpreted. ► Our results point to a European Late Cretaceous or Early Cenozoic origin of the clade of extant Clausiliidae. ► The neotropical distribution of two clades is attributed to transatlantic dispersal.