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Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Surrepifungium costulatum

(Kiener, 1839)

Description:

Dimensions range from 12.4 mm - 44 mm high and 13 mm - 41.2 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 01.05:1 ~ 0.94:1

Shell: pyramidal, elongated, turreted; light, thin, very fragile; small to medium. Exterior colour creamy white. About 13.5 whorls, convex, coiled relatively tightly, disjointed; protoconch with 3.25-3.5 whorls numerous fine, incised, axial lines; teleoconch with 9-10 whorls very finely ribbed. Spire very pointed. Suture deeply fenestrate. Umbilicate: moderately wide, deep, partially hidden by the left edge. Approximately 16 - 26 costae on the body whorl. Costae are evenly spaced, thin, narrow delicate, appearing only as continuous lines on each whorl. Costae mostly continuous, only slightly touching those of adjoining whorls. Intercostal spaces very weak spiral lines on early teleoconch becoming obsolete on later whorls. Aperture rounded, slightly bordered. Operculum paucispiral, with interconnected coils.


Distribution:

Indo-West Pacific; Japan; Palau, Philippines, Indonesia; Queensland and NE Australia; Thailand; Egypt, Red Sea. Tryon [1879:57] cites a specimen from West Colombia which is either incorrect or a different species


Habitat:

3-100 m, associated with Ctenactis albitentaculata Hoeksema, 1989, C. crassa (Dana, 1797), C. echinata (Pallas, 1766), Herpolitha limax (Esper, 1797), Sandalolitha robusta (Quelch, 1886) and S. dentata Quelch, 1884


Etymology:

[latin] from costulatus = having ribs that are not prominent


Type Material:

Holotype: MHNG 1152/16. for Surrepifungium costulatum (Kiener, 1839) - Type Locality: Unknown. [Gittenberger A. & Gittenberger E., 2005]


SpeciesImage

Kiener, L. C., & Fischer, P. (1873b). Plate 2. Fig. 4.

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Kiener, L. C., & Fischer, P. (1873b).
Species Image
Plate 2. Fig. 4.
Species Image
Plate 2. Fig. 4.
Species Image
pp: 5-6.
Original description
Tryon, G.W. (1887).
Shown in text as Scalaria costulata Kiener, 1838
Species Image
Plate 12. Fig. 59.
Species Image
pp: 57.
DuShane, H. (1988a).
Species Image
pp: 31. Fig. 1.
Figure 1. Apertural view of Epitoniitm costulatum (Kiener, 1839). Length 28 mm, width 13 mm, DuShane Collection. Straits of Tiraii,RedSea
Gittenberger, A., Goud & Gittenberger, E. (2000).
Species Image
Plate 94. Fig. 3-4.
Figures 3-4. Epitonium costulatum (Kiener 1838), holotype
(MHNG 1152/16). Shell length 3.3 cm.
Gittenberger A. & Gittenberger E. (2005).
Species Image
pp: 138. Fig. 34-35.
34-35, S. costulatum (Kiener, 1838), Palau.
Brown, L. (2010).
Species Image
pp: 29. Fig. 15.
East China Sea
Photo: Tom Eichorst

Synonymy:

Scalaria costulata Kiener, 1838 [in Tryon, G.W., 1887].
Scalaria costulata Kiener, 1838: [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].


Source Literature:

Brown, L. (2010). Report on the Epitoniidae of the East China Sea - Part 2. American Conchologist: quarterly bulletin of the Conchologists of America, Inc. 38 (3). Lipps-National Pres. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/262812 [Accessed 23 July 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]
DuShane, H. (1988a). Geographical Distribution of Some Epitoniidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) Associated with Fungiid Corals. The Nautilus. 102(1). https://ia600905.us.archive.org/9/items/nautilus102amer/nautilus102amer.pdf [Accessed 17 September 2023]
Gittenberger A. & Gittenberger E. (2005). A hitherto unnoticed adaptive radiation: epitoniid species (Gastropoda: Epitoniidae) associated with corals (Scleractinia).. Contributions to Zoology. 74(1-2). Contributions to Zoology. http://www.repository.naturalis.nl/document/43091 [Accessed 16 July 2023]
Gittenberger, A., Goud & Gittenberger, E. (2000). Epitonium (Gastropoda: Epitoniidae) associated with mushroom corals (Scleractinia: Fungiidae) from Sulawesi, Indonesia, with the description of four new species.. The Nautilus. 114(1). The Nautilus. http://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/128726.pdf [Accessed 8 March 2025]
Kiener, L. C., & Fischer, P. (1873b). Famille des Turbinacées. Spécies Général et Iconographie des Coquilles Vivantes. 10. J.B. Baillière et fils. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/19879 [Accessed 20 March 2025]
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
WoRMS Editorial Board (2025). World Register of Marine Species. https://www.marinespecies.org [Accessed 8 November 2025]

WoRMS direct page link: Open WoRMS record