Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Alora rapunculus

Kilburn, 1975

Description:

Dimensions range from 11.6 mm - 21.5 mm high and 12.2 mm - 15.8 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 01.05:1 ~ 0.73:1

Shell: Ovate-trochiform; solid; small to moderately small. Exterior colour off-white, mottled with lilac. About 6 whorls, strongly convex, periphery median or situated towards base; protoconch apparently smooth and stiliform. Suture deeply impressed, almost channelled. Umbilicate: narrow, partly covered by the slightly reflected edge of the columella callus. Costae are oblique, subequal. Intercostal spaces with close spiral lirae; these do not increase in number but become progressively more widely spaced. Interstices with approximately 9 - 10 spiral striae per whorl. Base main spiral lirae are rather coarse, becoming progressively weaker around the umbilicus. Columella strongly curved. Aperture ovate with a very shallow pseudo-siphonal notch; outer lip evenly arched, paries more or less straight, evenly arched. Operculum ovate, paucispiral, thin, orange-brown with strong growth lines.

Distribution:

Moçambique [Kilburn, 1975:607]

Habitat:

exact habitat and depth unknown [Kilburn, 1975:607]

Type Material:

Holotype: NM G2187/T1839 for Alora rapunculus Kilburn, 1975 - Locality: trawled off Mozambique.. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]
Holotype N.M. G2187/T1839, don. Mrs H. Boswell; paratype 1, N.M. G2183/T1838, don. A. Visage; paratypes 2 and 3 in coll. Mrs H. Boswell. for Alora rapunculus Kilburn, 1975 - Locality: Trawled off Moçambique, exact habitat and depth unknown.. [Kilburn, R.N, 1975]

SpeciesImage

Kilburn, R.N (1975). pp: 608. Fig. 18a.

Fig. 18. a, Alora rapunculus sp. nov. Holotype, 17,7 x 12,7 mm.

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Kilburn, R.N (1975).

Species Image

pp: 608. Fig. 18a.

Fig. 18. a, Alora rapunculus sp. nov. Holotype, 17,7 x 12,7 mm.

Species Image

pp: 607.

Species Image

pp: 608.

arsint.com (2023).

Species Image

Alora rapunculus

Source Literature:

arsint.com (2023). Shells for Sale:Epitonidae. arsint.com. http://www.arsint.com/seashells_epitoniidae_opalia.html [Accessed 21 October 2023]
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]
Kilburn, R.N (1975). Taxonomic notes on South African marine Mollusca (5):* including descriptions of new taxa of Rissoidae, Cerithiidae, Tonnidae, Cassididae, Buccinidae, Fasciolariidae, Turbinellidae, Turridae, Architectonicidae, Epitoniidae, Limidae and Thraciidae. Annuals of teh Natal Museum. 22(2). https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/AJA03040798_631&ved=2ahUKEwj8wpu6lfmOAxUba_UHHcCCGUUQFnoECBcQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0THjqQJ9hV0hXB500UZQWB [Accessed 8 August 2025]
Kilburn, R.N (1985). The family Epitoniidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) in southern Africa and Mozambique. Annals of the Natal Museum. 27(1). Natal Museum
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