The family Costellariidae is represented by numerous, often common species in the Marshalls. Species are carnivorous or scavengers, with some feeding on other mollusks. Many of the species are very small and easily overlooked. We do not yet have photos of all species; more will be added when available. Traditionally, members of this family were considered closely related to the family Mitridae, but recent DNA analyses by Fedosov et al (2017) have revealed that the two families "showed no affinity whatsoever."
The genus Vexillum contains species formerly considered to belong to the subgenera Vexillum and Costellaria. Based largely on DNA, Fedosov et al (2017) removed the subgenera and moved all species directly under the genus name.
The group of species linked below were formerly considered to belong to the subgenus Pusia. Fedosov et al (2017) elevated Pusia to full generic rank but with only a few species, only one of which we have confirmed from Kwajalein. Since most of these have not yet been checked to see where they fall, we are keeping most of them as Vexillum but listed separately from the "Vexillum/Costellaria" species above at least until further information becomes available.
Many thanks to Richard Salisbury, who helped considerably with discussion, information and identification of many of these species. However, as I (the webmaster) ultimately made the final decisions on how to present this material, any errors can surely be attributed to me.
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