Minute snails with squat or elongate shells, frequently with some form of apertural dentition; smooth or sculptured with axial riblets. Head lacking lower pair of tentacles.
The family Vertiginidae is of almost world-wide distribution. Three genera are recorded in South Africa, all occurring in the eastern region, namely: Truncatellina which has an elongate, cylindrical shell (dextral or sinistral) and few or no apertural teeth; Nesopupa with a more ovate shell and strong, lamellate apertural teeth; and Pupisoma with a globular shell without apertural dentition. Locally they may be found in forests and thicket, but Truncatellina and Pupisoma are perhaps less habitat specific and can be found in somewhat drier areas. With its well-developed apertural dentition, Nesopupa resembles to some extent the streptaxid genus Gulella. In that genus, however, the shell is generally more cylindrical and is colourless or white, rather than brownish.
Pupisoma has frequently been placed in the family Valloniidae, but there seems to be little general agreement as to its true relationships. We follow Alan Solem and treat it together with Nesopupa.