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Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Cirsotrema zelebori

(Dunker, 1866)

Description:

Dimensions range from 17.15 mm - 31.1 mm high and 6.4 mm - 11.07 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.37:1 ~ 0.36:1

Shell: pyramidal, tapering, turreted; somewhat solid; small to moderately small. Exterior colour white, but may show purple colouring in fresh specimens. About 12 whorls, increasing slowly and regularly, rounded, very convex; teleoconch with 9-12 whorls rounded, the last whorl marked with a distinct spiral rib. Suture very deep. Imperforate. Approximately 10 - 15 costae on the body whorl. Costae are numerous, rather thick, erect, notched. Costae somewhat angled near the suture; slightly reflexed. Intercostal spaces distinctly corded, beaded where they cross the costae. Interstices with approximately 6 spiral striae per whorl. Base with a strong basal ridge. Aperture nearly round.


Distribution:

SE Australia to New Zealand; Verco [1908:145] notes a record from Encounter Bay, South Australia, but suggests that it is not found here as no other specimens have been collected from either Victoria or Tasmania]


Habitat:

shallow water to about 100 fms (183 m) [Powell 1979: 252]


Etymology:

named for Joh. Zelebor


Type Material:

type not located for Cirsotrema zelebori (Dunker, 1866) - Type Locality: 'Nova- Seelandia'. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]
Stuttgart Museum; possibly lost; not listed in the Museum's on-line type catalog. [as Scalaria reevei Clessin, 1897:] - Type Locality: 'Auskland, Neuseeland' [= Auckland, New Zealand].. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]


SpeciesImage

Murrell (2025).

Orewa, New Zealand. Beach collected.

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Dunker & Zelebor, J (1866).
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pp: 912-913.
original description
Tryon, G.W. (1887).
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Plate 15. Fig. 75.
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pp: 78.
Clessin, S. (1897).
Shown in text as Scalaria reevei Clessin, 1897
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Plate 15. Fig. 9.
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pp: 63.
Shell pyramidal, imperforate, white, solid, with spiral striations; whorls 10, rounded, separated by a very deep suture; varices thick, numerous, granulated; aperture somewhat ovate.
Clessin, S. (1897).
Shown in text as Scalaria zelebori Dunker, 1866
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Plate 13. Fig. 5.
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pp: 50.
Verco, J.C. (1906).
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pp: 145. Plate Scala zelebori, Dunker.
Scala zelebori, Dunker
Kaicher, S.D. (1980).
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Card #: EP1-2376.
Murrell (2025).
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Orewa, New Zealand. Beach collected.
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Synonymy:

Scalaria reevei Clessin, 1897 [in Clessin, S., 1897].
Scalaria reevei Clessin, 1897: [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].
Scalaria zelebori Dunker, 1866 [in Clessin, S., 1897].


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]
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]
Dunker & Zelebor, J (1866). Bericht uber von der Novara-Epedition mitgebrachetn Mollusken. Zoologisch-Botanische Gesellschaft in Wien. & Kaiserlich-Königliche Zoologisch-Botanische Gesellschaft in Wien.. 16. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/26724143 [Accessed 10 June 2025]
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]
Murrell (2025). Personal Collection
Powell, A.W.B. (1979). New Zealand Mollusca: Marine, Land and Freshwater Shells. Collins, Auckland
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]
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]
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