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Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Epitonium fasciatum

(G. B. Sowerby II, 1844)

Description:

Dimensions range from 12.6 mm - 25 mm high and 6 mm - 6.14 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.48:1 ~ 0.25:1

Shell: narrowly conical, pyramidal; fragile; small to moderately small. Exterior colour white with a diffused brown band, costae white. About 9 whorls, rounded, sub-angulated at the shoulder, barely touching; teleoconch with 8-9 whorls rounded. Suture deeply fenestrate, but not perforated. Umbilicate: fenestrated, partly covered by outer lip. Approximately 6 - 9 costae on the body whorl. Costae are prosocline, thin, sharp-egded, equidistant. Costae hooked at the shoulders; distinctly recurved; continuous. Intercostal spaces smooth. Aperture nearly ovate; peristome wide, double, somewhat auriculate at the base ; outer lip excavated at the suture, then tapering to a sharp point. Operculum nucleus centred, translucent yellowish-brown.

This species differs from E.alatum in being narrower, the shape of the varices and margin of the aperture. In each species there is an angle at the varix, but in E.fasciatum it is much more pointed and elevated than in E.alatum, and leans towards the whorl., , May also be confused with E. pyramidale or E. philippinarum, both of which have a closed umbilicus.


Distribution:

Indo-West Pacific; Off Kii Peninsula, Amami Islands to Okinawa, Japan; Philippines to Australia; Red Sea to Natal, South Africa


Habitat:

10-50 m., fine sand [Higo, et al., 1999: 180]


Etymology:

[latin] fasciatus = banded or striped, in relation to the brown stripe on the shell


Type Material:

Luzon Island, Philippines for Epitonium fasciatum (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844). [Nakayama, T., 2003]
Type not located [as Scalaria fasciata G.B. Sowerby II, 1844: ~ Scalaria austrocaledonica Montrouzier, 1859.] - Type Locality: Catanuan, Luzon, Philippines.. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]
Type not indicated in text for Epitonium fasciatum (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844) - Type Locality: 'Catanauan, pr. Tayabas, ins. Luzon' (Luzon, Philippines); 'Found in sandy mud at eight to ten fathoms'. [Higo, S., Callomon, P. & Goto, Y., 1999]


SpeciesImage

Sowerby, G. B. II. (1844). Plate xxxii. Fig. 12, 13.

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Sowerby, G. B. II. (1844).
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Plate xxxii. Fig. 12, 13.
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pp: 84.
original description
Sowerby, G. B. II. (1873).
Shown in text as Scalaria fasciata
Species Image
Plate III. Fig. 13a.
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Tryon, G.W. (1887).
Shown in text as Scalaria fasciata G. B. Sowerby II, 1844
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Plate 11. Fig. 41.
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pp: 55.
Clessin, S. (1897).
Shown in text as Scalaria fasciata G. B. Sowerby II, 1844
Species Image
Plate 5. Fig. 7-8.
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pp: 21.
Shell white, with a single brown spiral band between the varices, pyramidal in shape; whorls rounded, slightly convex, closely set; varices evenly spaced, lamellar, prominent, raised near the suture into a sharp angle; aperture nearly ovate, the outer lip excavated at the suture, then tapering upward into a sharp point.
Kaicher, S.D. (1980).
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Card #: EP1-2364.
Kilburn, R.N (1985).
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NM J8582
Pemba, Mozambique
14.5 x 7.8 mm
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NM J7245
Cerf Is., Seychelles,
6.7 x 9.3 mm
Wilson, B.R. (1993).
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pp: 379. Plate 44. Fig. 19.
Nakayama, T. (2003).
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pp: 127. Plate 12. Fig. 1-2.
figs 1-2:
Epitonium (Lamelliscala) fasciatum (Sowerby, 1844)
height 12.6 mm; breadth 6.0 mm (TC)

Synonymy:

Scalaria fasciata G. B. Sowerby II, 1844 [in Clessin, S., 1897].
Scalaria fasciata G. B. Sowerby II, 1844 [in Sowerby, G. B. II., 1873].
Scalaria fasciata G. B. Sowerby II, 1844 [in Tryon, G.W., 1887].
Scalaria fasciata G.B. Sowerby II, 1844: ~ Scalaria austrocaledonica Montrouzier, 1859. [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].


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]
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. (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]
Kilburn, R.N (1985). The family Epitoniidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) in southern Africa and Mozambique. Annals of the Natal Museum. 27(1). Natal Museum
Nakayama, T. (2003). A Review of Northwest Pacific Epitoniids. Monographs of Marine Mollusca. 6. Backhuys Publishers
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). 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]
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]
Weil, A., Brown, L. & Neville, B. (1999). The Wentletrap Book. Evolver
Wilson, B.R. (1993). Australian Marine Shells. Australian Marine Shells. 1. Odessey Publications
WoRMS Editorial Board (2025). World Register of Marine Species. https://www.marinespecies.org [Accessed 8 November 2025]

WoRMS direct page link: Open WoRMS record