Shell small to minute, cylindrical to pupiform, usually umbilicate; aperture bearing up to six teeth in adult.
There is little agreement as to what actually constitutes a pupillid. Many authors have opted to include the chondrinids, orculids and vertiginids in the Pupillidae, whereas others, including ourselves, afford each full family status. Even adopting this relatively narrow definition, the Pupillidae has an almost worldwide distribution.
In general, pupillids are more tolerant of dry conditions than most snails, sealing the aperture with a relatively thick epiphragm of dried mucus to reduce water loss during dry periods. The shells resemble those of the Vertiginidae, but in pupillids the animal retains the two pairs of head tentacles typical of most pulmonates. Pupillids are herbivorous and some, including the South African Lauria dadion, are ovoviviparous, 'giving birth' to crawling young. Four species, belonging to three genera (Pupilla, Pupoides and Lauria), occur in eastern South Africa. All are indigenous, but none are endemic. Most are catholic in their habitat preferences and have wide distributions in southern Africa as a whole, including some relatively arid areas in Botswana and Namibia. Lauria dadion, however, appears to be less drought resistant and is evidently restricted to moister, forested habitats in the south and east. Pupilla includes both sinistral and dextral species.