Header Image
Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Propescala translucida

(Gatliff, 1906)

Description:

Dimensions range from 6 mm - 6.9 mm high and 2.3 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.38:1 ~ 0.33:1

Shell: elongate; fairly solid; minute. Exterior colour white, semi-translucent, 3 faint spiral light-brown bands. About 11 whorls, convex, with a bold peripheral rib; protoconch bulbous with ~2 whorls submammillate, smooth at first, then developing axial riblets; teleoconch with ~9 whorls convex. Suture well-defined, deep. Imperforate. Approximately 12 - 18 costae on the body whorl. Costae are strong, round, crossed by numerous spiral lirae. Costae slightly peaked at the upper suture. Intercostal spaces with fine spiral threads which continue onto the base. Interstices with approximately 12 spiral striae per whorl. Base somewhat concave, with basal ridge. Aperture circular, lip thickened.


Distribution:

Backstairs Passage, deep water, 6 recent, none alive.; Victoria, Tasmania, and South Australia [Wilson, 1993:275, Cotton & Godfrey, 1931:7, and Macpherson & Gabriel, 1962:118].


Habitat:

not reported.


Etymology:

[latin] from translucidus = translucent.


SpeciesImage

Museums Victoria (2026). Fig. MV F 509.

Scala translucida Gatliff, 1906
Holotype. Registration no. F 509.
Portsea, Victoria, Australia, in shell sand
Museums Victoria Photograph: D. Staples.
Copyright Museums Victoria. Released under Creative Commons Licence CC BY-NC 4.0.

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Type Material:

The holotype record SM D.13456 for Scala valida Verco, 1906 [Brown & Neville, 2015:157] has not been located on ALA.

The following list brings together type material and other cited specimens as reported in the sources examined, grouped under the names and designations used in each source. The same specimen may appear in multiple entries drawn from different sources. Some entries concern other species included by authors for comparison; inclusion in this list does not imply synonymy.
Propescala translucida (Gatliff, 1906)HolotypeGatliff collection. Portsea, Port Phillip, Victoria, Australia. in shell sand. [Brown & Neville, 2015: 157].ParatypeAMS C.25296. Victoria, Western Port, Australia. Lat: 38° 22'S, Lon: 145° 32'E. Collected by: Gatliff, J H. . 1904 - 1904. Dredged. [Australian Museum, 2026: C.25296].
Scala translucida Gatliff, 1906HolotypeF509. Portsea, Victoria, Australia. in shell sand. [Museums Victoria, 2026: F509].
Scala valida Verco, 1906HolotypeSM D.13456. Backstairs Passage, South Australia, Australia. deep water. [Brown & Neville, 2015: 157].


Gatliff, J. H. (1906).
Species Image
Fig. 3-4.
Original illustration
Species Image
original description
Verco, J.C. (1906).
Shown in text as Scala valida Verco, 1906
Species Image
Fig. 7.
Species Image
pp: 147.
Cotton, B.C. & Godfrey, F.K. (1931).
Species Image
Plate I. Fig. 5.
Species Image
pp: 7.
Museums Victoria (2026).
Shown in text as Scala translucida Gatliff, 1906
Species Image
Fig. MV F 509.
Scala translucida Gatliff, 1906
Holotype. Registration no. F 509.
Portsea, Victoria, Australia, in shell sand
Museums Victoria Photograph: D. Staples.
Copyright Museums Victoria. Released under Creative Commons Licence CC BY-NC 4.0.

Synonymy:

Cirsotrema translucida (Gatliff, 1906) [Weil et al., 1999: 128]
Scala translucida Gatliff, 1906 [Museums Victoria, 2026: F509]
Scala valida Verco, 1906 [Verco, 1906: 147; Brown & Neville, 2015: 157]


Source Literature:

Australian Museum (2026). Australian Museum provider for OZCAM. Occurrence dataset. Atlas of Living Australia. https://doi.org/10.15468/e7susi accessed via GBIF.org [Accessed 18 July 2026]
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]
Cotton, B.C. & Godfrey, F.K. (1931). South Australian Shells Part II. The South Australian Naturalist. 13(1). Field Naturalists Society of South Australia. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42129287 [Accessed 8 June 2025]
Gatliff, J. H. (1906). On some Victorian marine Mollusca, new species and others little-known.. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8272406. 19(1). Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria.. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8272406 [Accessed 11 June 2023]
Macpherson, J.H. & Gabriel, C.J. (1962). Marine Molluscs of Victoria. Melbourne University Press and National Museum of Victoria: Melbourne.. https://archive.org/details/marinemolluscsof0000jhop/page/118/mode/2up [Accessed 13 June 2025]
Museums Victoria (2026). Museums Victoria provider for OZCAM. Occurrence dataset. Atlas of Living Australia. https://doi.org/10.15468/lp1ctu accessed via GBIF.org [Accessed 18 July 2026]
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
Wilson, B.R. (1993). Australian Marine Shells. Australian Marine Shells. Vol.1. Odessey Publications
WoRMS Editorial Board (2025). World Register of Marine Species. https://www.marinespecies.org at VLIZ. [Accessed 8 November 2025]

WoRMS direct page link: Open WoRMS record