auriculidaæ

pl. [From the typical genus Auricula (q.v.).] Zool. A family of Gasteropodous Molluscs belonging to the order Pulmonifera, and to the section Inoperculata. They have spiral shells, of which the body-whorl is large and the aperture elongated and denticulated. They frequent salt marshes, damp hollows, and places overflowed by the sea. The auriculo-ventricular orifice. orifice through which the blood pa es from the auricle into the ventricle. It is guarded on either side by valves. (Todd & Bowman: Physiol. Anat., vol. ii., p. 333.)