Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Epitonium continens

(Melvill & Standen, 1903)

Description:

Dimensions range from 4 mm - 4.5 mm high and 2 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.5:1 ~ 0.44:1

Shell: ovate; thin; minute. Exterior colour white-milky. About 8 whorls; protoconch with ~3 whorls very smooth, glassy; teleoconch with ~5 whorls slightly ventricose. Spire with a sharp apex. Suture excavated. Imperforate. Approximately 14 costae on the body whorl. Costae are thin, erect, sharp, closely spaced. Costae aligned; continuous. Intercostal spaces smooth. Aperture ovate, lip thin, slightly reflexed.

Distribution:

Gulf of Oman

Habitat:

Offshore in deep, water.

Etymology:

[latin] from continens = continuous, in possible reference to the way the costae are continuous along the length of the shell

Type Material:

Syntypes: NHMUK 1903.12.15.18 & 1981206 for Epitonium continens (Melvill & Standen, 1903) - Type Locality: Gulf of Oman, 24° 58' N, 56° 54' E, 156 fms [= 285 m]. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]

SpeciesImage

Melvill, J. C. & Standen, R (1903). Plate Vii. Fig. 12.

Scala continens sp.n. (Pl. VII., fig. 12).

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Melvill, J. C. & Standen, R (1903).

Species Image

Plate Vii. Fig. 12.

Scala continens sp.n. (Pl. VII., fig. 12).

Source Literature:

Brown, L. & Neville, B.D. (2015). Catalog of the recent taxa of the families Epitoniidae and Nystiellidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) with a bibliography of the descriptive and systematic literature. Zootaxa. 3907(1). Magnolia Press Auckland, New Zealand. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3907.1.1 [Accessed 22 October 2023]
Kaicher, S.D. (1980). Epitoniidae I [Pack 23]. S. D. Kaicher, St. Petersburg, Florida. http://www.femorale.com/kaicher/species.asp?f=Epitoniidae&c=125 [Accessed 8 May 2023]
Melvill, J. C. & Standen, R (1903). The genus Scala (Klein) Humphrey, as represented in the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and North Arabian Sea, with descriptions of new species.. Journal of Conchology. 10. Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/31650162 [Accessed 26 February 2025]
Weil, A., Brown, L. & Neville, B. (1999). The Wentletrap Book. Evolver
WoRMS Editorial Board (2025). World Register of Marine Species. https://www.marinespecies.org [Accessed 8 November 2025]

WoRMS direct page link: Open WoRMS record