Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Epitonium moolenbeeki

van Aartsen, 1996

Description:

Dimensions range from 6.8 mm - 23 mm high and 4.2 mm - 18 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.62:1 ~ 0.78:1

Shell: elongate conical, narrow; quite solid; minute to moderately small. Exterior colour white or pale fawn. About 9 whorls, disconnected, joined only by costae. Suture deep, slightly fenestrate. Umbilicate: slightly open, almost concealed by inner lip of aperture. Approximately 9 costae on the body whorl. Costae are rather thick, flat. Costae hooked at the suture, extended into a sharp tooth, at the suture; reflexed; continuous, barely separated. Intercostal spaces smooth. Aperture ovate; peristome complete; outer lip posteriorly marginated and lobed. Operculum black, horny, paucispiral.

This species is close to E. pyramidale, but can be distinguished by its rather small size and its thin axial costae, which are not reflexed backwards.

Distribution:

Pacific coast and southern coast of Sea of Japan; Philippines, Hong Kong, Malacca Strait, Papua New Guinea; Torres Strait Australia, as well as Port Jackson, NSW [Watson, 1886], Neptune Islands South Australia [Cotton & Godfrey, 1931] and King Island Tasmania [Tate & May, 1901:279]

Habitat:

Intertidal to about 250m [Verco, 1906]. Both [Verco, 1906 and Kokshoorn et al., 2007] report association with Ceriantharia sp.on substrate of sand [Higo et al. 1999] and hard mud [Brazier, 1875: 251]

Etymology:

Named for Mr. Robert Moolenbeek.one of the co-authors of the magnificent book by Bosch, D.T., S.P. Dance, R.G. Moolenbeek & P.G. Oliver, 1995. Seashells of Eastern Arabia [van Aartse, 1996]

Type Material:

Hong Kong in China, the straits of Macassar, Malacca, and Araboyna. [as Scalaria aculeata G.B. Sowerby II, 1844]. [Sowerby, G. B. II., 1844]
Lectotype: BMNH198134 for Epitonium moolenbeeki van Aartsen, 1996. [Kokshoorn, B., Gittenberger, J. & Gittenberger, A, 2007]
NHMUK 1981034 (lectotype) designated by Kokshoorn et al. (2007: 39, fig. 7). [as Scalaria aculeata G.B. Sowerby II, 1844: ~ Epitonium moolenbeeki Van Aartsen, 1996.] - Locality: per G.B. Sowerby II (1844a 12), 'Hong Kong, China, Macassar, Malacca, Amboyna [=Ambon], Catanuan, Luzon, Philippines. Some specimens were taken at Bais, Negros Island, in coarse sand at six fathoms' [= 11 m].. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]
Type not indicated in text for Epitonium moolenbeeki van Aartsen, 1996 - Locality: 'Hong Kong, China, et Macassar, Malacca, Amboyna (Indonesia) ... ad Bais, ins. Negros et at Catanauan, ins. Luzon (Philippines)'; 'Some specimens were taken at Bais, isle of Negros, in coarse sand at six fathoms'.. [Higo, S., Callomon, P. & Goto, Y., 1999]

SpeciesImage

Sowerby, G. B. II. (1844). Plate xxxii. Fig. 35.

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Sowerby, G. B. II. (1844).

Shown in text as Scalaria aculeata G.B. Sowerby II, 1844

Species Image

Plate xxxii. Fig. 35.

Species Image

pp: 86.

Species Image

Plate xxxii. Fig. 36- 37.

0C0E54F2-DAD5-4EF2-B5B7-FE2E78BFA253

Sowerby, G. B. II. (1873-1874).

Shown in text as Scalaria aculeata G.B. Sowerby II, 1844

Species Image

Plate vii. Fig. 46a.

Species Image

Plate vii. Fig. 46b.

Species Image

Species 46. (Fig. a, 6, Mus. Brit.)
SCALARIA ACULEATA.

Brazier, J. (1875).

Species Image

pp: 251.

Watson, R.B. (1886).

Species Image

pp: 139.

Watson [1886] mis-reports Brazier's Papua New Guinea record [1875] as coming from 70 fathoms [128m]. However, Brazier [1875] records the specimen from 7 fathoms [12.8m]

Tryon, G.W. (1887).

Shown in text as Scalaria aculeata G. B. Sowerby II, 1844

Species Image

Plate 13. Fig. 90.

Species Image

Plate 13. Fig. 91.

Species Image

pp: 63.

Clessin, S. (1897).

Species Image

Plate 10. Fig. 5-6.

Species Image

pp: 35.

hell small, white, narrow; with eight whsorls, gradually increasing, contiguous; varices somewhat thick, moderately spaced, the succeeding ones notched at the suture and then raised into a small, spiny lobe; aperture ovate, outer lip posteriorly notched and lobed.

Verco, J.C. (1906).

Shown in text as Scalaria aculeata G. B. Sowerby II, 1844 ·

Species Image

pp: 143+144.

Scala aculeata, Sowerby, jun.

Cotton, B.C. & Godfrey, F.K. (1931).

Species Image

Plate I. Fig. 3.

Species Image

pp: 6.

Kaicher, S.D. (1981).

Species Image

Card #: EP2-3041.

Syntypes: BMNH Type Collection 198134

van Aartsen J.J. (1996).

Species Image

It is argued that the names Epitonium muricatum (Risso, 1826) and Epitonium moolenbeeki nom.nov. are to be used for two species, both referred to as Epitonium aculeatum in the past.

Nakayama, T. (2003).

Species Image

pp: 127. Plate 12. Fig. 13.

Epitonium (Hirtoscala) aculeatum (Sowerby, 1844)
height 7.4 mm; breadth 4.2 mm (KC)

Kokshoorn, B., Gittenberger, J. & Gittenberger, A (2007).

Species Image

pp: 39. Fig. 7-8.

E.moolenbeeki VanAartsen,1996

7,lectotype (BMNH198134),H=16.3mm;

8, E.side of Samalona island (RMNH87801),H=6.8mm.

Synonymy:

Epitonium moolenbeeki Van Aartsen, 1996: [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].
Scalaria aculeata G. B. Sowerby II, 1844 [in Tryon, G.W., 1887].
Scalaria aculeata G. B. Sowerby II, 1844 · [in Tate, R. & May, W.L., 1901].
Scalaria aculeata G. B. Sowerby II, 1844 · [in Verco, J.C., 1906].
Scalaria aculeata G.B. Sowerby II, 1844 [in Sowerby, G. B. II., 1844].
Scalaria aculeata G.B. Sowerby II, 1844 [in Sowerby, G. B. II., 1873-1874].
Scalaria aculeata G.B. Sowerby II, 1844: ~ Epitonium moolenbeeki Van Aartsen, 1996. [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].

Source Literature:

Brazier, J. (1875). Shells collected during the Chevert Expedition, with Descriptions of the New Species. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 1(3). Linnean Society of New South Wales.. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/22887 [Accessed 3 September 2025]
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]
Clessin, S. (1897). Die Familie der Scalariidae. In W. Kobelt (Ed.), Systematisches Conchylien-Cabinet von Martini und Chemnitz. Neu herausgegeben und vervollständigt. 2(13). Bauer & Raspe, NürnbergBauer & Raspe, Nürnberg. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34259905 [Accessed 21 June 2025]
Cotton, B.C. & Godfrey, F.K. (1931). South Australian Shells Part II. The South Australian Naturalist. 13(1). Field Naturalists Society of South Australia. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42129287 [Accessed 8 June 2025]
Higo, S., Callomon, P. & Goto, Y. (1999). Catalogue and Bibliography of the Marine Shell-Bearing Mollusca of Japan.. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266375656_Catalogue_and_Bibliography_of_the_Marine_Shell-Bearing_Mollusca_of_Japan [Accessed 25 July 2025]
Kaicher, S.D. (1981). Epitoniidae II [Pack 30]. S. D. Kaicher, St. Petersburg, Florida. http://www.femorale.com/kaicher/species.asp?f=Epitoniidae&c=125 [Accessed 8 May 2023]
Kokshoorn, B., Gittenberger, J. & Gittenberger, A (2007). Epitoniid parasites (Gastropoda, Caenogastropoda, Epitoniidae) and their host sea anemones (Cnidaria,Actiniaria,Ceriantharia) in the Spermonde archipelago, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Basteria. 71(1-3)
Nakayama, T. (2003). A Review of Northwest Pacific Epitoniids. Monographs of Marine Mollusca. 6. Backhuys Publishers
South Wales. 26(3). https://biostor.org/reference/53643 [Accessed 5 November 2025]
Sowerby, G. B. II. (1844). Monograph of the genus Scalaria.. Thesaurus conchyliorum, or monographs of genera of shells.. 1 (4). London, privately published.. http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/11076419 [Accessed 22 June 2023]
Sowerby, G. B. II. (1873-1874). Monograph of the genus Scalaria. Conchologia iconica, or illustrations of the shells of molluscous animals, vol. 19, pls 1-16 and unpaginated text.. 19. London. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8217819 [Accessed 24 August 2023]
Tate, R. & May, W.L. (1901). A revised census of the marine Mollusca of Tasmania. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New
Tryon, G.W. (1887). Manual of conchology, structural and systematic with illustrations of the species. IX. Academy of Natural Sciences. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/11026889 [Accessed 20 September 2025]
van Aartsen J.J. (1996). Nomenclatural notes, 8. On Turbo aculeatus T. Brown, 1818 (Gastropoda, Prosobranchia, Epitoniidae). Basteria. 60(3)
Verco, J.C. (1906). Notes on South Australian marine Mollusca, with descriptions of new species. Part IV.. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of South Australia. 30 Pt 4. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16124267 [Accessed 19 June 2023]
Watson, R.B. (1886). Report on the Scaphopoda and Gasteropoda collected by H.M.S. Challenger during the years 1873-76. Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger during the years 1873-76, Zoology. 15(2). https://www.19thcenturyscience.org/HMSC/HMSC-Reports/Zool-42/htm/doc.html [Accessed 9 July 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