Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Epitonium sykesii

(Melvill & Standen, 1903)

Description:

Dimensions range from 4.2 mm - 9 mm high.
Width to height ratio: 00:1 ~ 00:1

Shell: ovate-fusiform; delicate; minute to small. Exterior colour white. About 8 whorls; protoconch with ~4 whorls attenuate, very smooth, and glassy;; teleoconch with 3-4 whorls slightly ventricose and compressed at the sutures. Approximately 42 costae on the body whorl. Columella margin reflexed. Aperture circular; outer lip barely thickened, while it is considerably reflexed over the columellar margin..

Distribution:

Gulf of Oman

Habitat:

285 m

Etymology:

named for Mr. Ernest R. Sykes., To Mr. Ernest R. Sykes we dedicate this species, which he was the first to extract from the shell-sand dredged at the above locality

Type Material:

NHMUK 1903.12.15.6 & 1981210 (syntypes). for Epitonium sykesii (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. 11.

Scala sykesii sp.n. (PI. VII., fig. I1).

Distribution

as listed in source literature

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

Species Image

Plate VII. Fig. 11.

Scala sykesii sp.n. (PI. VII., fig. I1).

Species Image

pp: 346.

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]
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