<p class="abstract-testo">Analysis of the internal characters, especially the cardinalia and brachidium, of the brachiopod <em><em>Comelicania</em></em> Frech from the Southern Alps, confirmed the attribution of this genus to the Superfam. Athyridoidea Davidson and provided a more complete taxonomic description of the Fam. Comelicaniidae Merla. This family includes two genera which differ in the morphology of their cardinalia, i.e. <em><em>Gruntallina</em></em> Waterhouse & Gupta, type-species <em><em>Gruntallina</em></em> triangularis (Grunt) from the lower Dorashamian of Transcaucasia and <em><em>Comelicania</em></em>, type-species <em><em>Comelicania</em></em> megalotis (Stache) from the uppermost Bellerophon Fm. of the Southern Alps. The study of a collection composed of more than a hundred specimens highlighted a broad variability of the morphological characters and a pattern of ontogenetic development which demonstrates that classification at the species level is possible only when using mature specimens. Taxonomic revision at the specific level reduced the eleven species of <em><em>Comelicania</em></em> from the Southern Alps, described by previous authors, to: <em><em>C. megalotis</em></em> (Stache) and <em><em>C. haueri</em></em> (Stache). In addition a new species, <em><em>C. merlai</em></em>, which characterises the upper <em><em>Comelicania</em></em> beds, is proposed.</p><p class="abstract-testo"> </p>