The family Haminoeidae
(listed as Atyidae in some sources) includes small herbivorous
species with thin, and sometimes
reduced, external shells that lack elevated spires. Many burrow
and most are nocturnal although a few, such at Haminoea cymbalum, are diurnal.
Some
of the most common opisthobranchs in Hawaii are in this family though
they are seldom seen due to their cryptic coloration and burrowing
habits. About 30 species are known from Hawaii in about 11
genera (Aliculastrum, Atys, Diniatys, Haloa, Lamprohaminoea, Liloa, Phaneropthalmus, Roxaniella, Smaragdinella, Vellicola and Weinkauffia). Phaneropthalmus and Smaragdinella are sometimes placed
in a separate family, the Smaragdinellidae.
Atys kekele Pilsbry, 1921 (probably in Aliculastrum) was described from fossil material and is not covered. It
appears to be closer to the Indo-Pacific Aliculastrum cylindricum than to Aliculastrum debile or Atys ukulele. More inflated shells collected from Pearl Harbor during World War Two resemble shells of A. cylindricum but their status relative to A. kekele and A. debile from Midway is unknown.
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