Shell depressed, with rounded whorls and a more or less circular aperture and wide umbilicus; periostracum well developed; operculum horny and comprising many spiral turns.
This family is endemic to Africa. Only one genus, Maizania, occurs in South Africa, with asingle species. The sole of the foot does not contract on alternate sides during crawling (see Pomatiasidae) and locomotion is conventional. The generic name honours a French naval ensign named Maizan, who died in 1 845 in a skirmish in what is now Tanzania.