Header Image
Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Cirsotrema togatum

(Hertlein & Strong, 1951)

Description:

Dimensions range from 15 mm - 38 mm high and 6 mm - 14 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.4:1 ~ 0.37:1

Shell: slender, turrited; small to moderately small. Exterior colour dingy white. About 13.5 whorls; protoconch with ~1.5 whorls early sculpture, somewhat glassy; teleoconch with 11-12 whorls narrowly tabulate, upper whorls with the sculpture much worn. Suture very deep. Imperforate: lacking. Approximately 20 costae on the body whorl. Costae are the reflected faces of the varices with close, waved, axial striae, expansion of the ribs to join the expansions of the neighboring ribs, leaving small openings through which the regular shell surface may be seen; lamination of the ribs extends above and below to give a third dimensional quality to the intricate sculpture; every fourth, fifth or sixth costae is swollen to form a strong varix. Costae aligned; continuous from suture to suture; coronated shoulder with 3 or more sharp, waved, axial laminae, the points of which correspond to the spiral cords, and in some cases span the interspaces between the axial ribs; strongly reflected. Intercostal spaces with spiral cords; the reflected faces of the varices with close, waved, axial striae. Interstices with approximately 7 spiral striae per whorl. Base with a strong spiral cord forming a narrow basal disk. Aperture circular, lip lip slightly patulous, crenulated, thickened by the last rib. Operculum dark and paucispiral.


Distribution:

Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico, to Costa Rica and the Galápagos [DuShane 1974: 48]


Habitat:

sand [Hertlein & Strong, 1951:89], 10-366m [Garcia, 2010:94]


Etymology:

[latin] from togatum = draped or cloaked. Although not specifically stated by the authors, it may possibly refer to the cloaked appearance of the whorls


Type Material:

Holotype: CAS[GTC] 9620 for Cirsotrema togatum (Hertlein & Strong, 1951) - Type Locality: Station 150-D-19, Gorda Banks, Gulf of California, 23o 01' 00''N, 109o 27' 30''W, dredged in 50 fms (91 m), sand.. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]
Holotype: for Cirsotrema togatum (Hertlein & Strong, 1951) - Type Locality: Station 150-D-19, Lat. 23° 0' 00, N., Long. 109° 27 30 W., Gorda Banks, Gulf of California, dredged in 50 fathoms (91 meters). Length, 37.5 mm.; maximum diameter (including the varices), 13.8 mm. P. 89.. [Hertlein L.G. & Strong A.M., 1951]
Holotype (Fig. 1) length 37.5 mm, width 13.8 mm; CAS 065015, MEXICO: Gorda Banks, Golfo de California, Baja California Sur, 23°1 'N, 109°27'30'W; 91 m. Paratype 14 mi. SE of Punta Judas. Costa Rica, 9º19'32'N, 84°29'30'W, 76-112 m, CAS 065516. for Cirsotrema togatum (Hertlein & Strong, 1951). [Garcia, E. F., 2010]


SpeciesImage

Hertlein L.G. & Strong A.M. (1951). Plate III. Fig. 1.

Epitonium
(Cursotrema) togatum
Hertlein & Strong, sp. nov. Holotype, from Station 150-D-19, Lat. 23° 01' 00" N., Long. 109° 27' 30" W., Gorda Banks, Gulf of California, dredged in 50 fathoms (91 meters).
Length, 37.5 mm.; maximum diameter (including the varices), 13.8 mm.

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Hertlein L.G. & Strong A.M. (1951).
Species Image
Plate III. Fig. 1.
Epitonium
(Cursotrema) togatum
Hertlein & Strong, sp. nov. Holotype, from Station 150-D-19, Lat. 23° 01' 00" N., Long. 109° 27' 30" W., Gorda Banks, Gulf of California, dredged in 50 fathoms (91 meters).
Length, 37.5 mm.; maximum diameter (including the varices), 13.8 mm.
Species Image
Plate III. Fig. 5.
Epitonium
( Cirsotrema) togatum
Hertlein & Strong, sp. nov. Paratype, from Station 214-D-1-4, Lat. 9° 19' 32" to 9° 17' 40" N., Long: 84° 29' 30" to 84° 27' 30" W., 14 miles S. X E. of Judas Point, Costa Rica, dredged in 42-61 fathoms (76.5-112 meters).
Length, 33.4 mm.; diameter (including varices), 11.2 mm. P. 89.
Keen, A. M. (1958).
Species Image
pp: 273. Fig. 103.
Keen, À. M. (1971).
Species Image
pp: 429. Fig. 632.
Species Image
pp: 428.
Olsson, A. A. (1971).
Species Image
pp: 77. Fig. 77.
7, Cirsotrema togata (Hertlein & Strong)
length 22.4 mm; PILLSBURY Sta. P-543.
Species Image
pp: 89.
DuShane, H. (1974).
Species Image
pp: 34. Fig. 54.
Figure 54: Epitonium (Cirsotrema) togalum, Hertlein & Strong, 1 95 1. Live-taken specimen, Manzanilla, Colima, Mexico; length 16 mm; width 6mm; Shy Collection X 5.6
Species Image
pp: 34. Fig. 55.
Figure 55: Epitonium (Cirsotrema) togatum, Hertlein & Strong, 1 95 1. Holotype, CAS[GTC] 9620; length 37^ mm; width 13.8mm X 1.3
DuShane, H. (1988g).
Species Image
pp: 1. Plate 55. Fig. 10-11.
Cirsotrema togatum (Hertlein and Strong). 10, 11, LACMIP 7585, TU 1397, L 20.1 mm, W 9.3 mm;

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]
DuShane, H. (1974). The Panamic-Galapagan Epitoniidae. The Veliger. 16 (Sup. 14). https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42500298 [Accessed 25 September 2023]
DuShane, H. (1988g). Pliocene Epitoniidae of the Esmeraldas Beds, Northwestern Ecuador (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Tulane Studies in Geology and Paleontology. 21(2). https://journals.tulane.edu/tsgp/issue/view/97 [Accessed 29 December 2025]
Garcia, E. F. (2010). The genus Cirsotrema (Gastropoda: Epitoniidae) in the Panamic Province, with the description of two new species.. Novapex. 11(4). https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42367876 [Accessed 2 April 2026]
Hertlein L.G. & Strong A.M. (1951). Eastern Pacific expeditions of the New York Zoological Society. XLIII. Mollusks from the west coast of Mexico and Central America. Part X. Zoologica. 36(2). https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/50970025 [Accessed 3 September 2023]
Keen, A. M. (1958). Sea shells of tropical west America; marine mollusks from Lower California to Colombia. Stanford Univ. Press;
Keen, À. M. (1971). Sea shells of tropical west America: Marine mollusks from Baja California to Peru. Stanford University Press
Olsson, A. A. (1971). Biological results of the University of Miami deep-sea expeditions. 77. Mollusks from the Gulf of Panama collected by R/V John Elliott Pillsbury, 1967. 21(1). Bulletin of Marine Science. https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/umrsmas/bullmar/1971/00000021/00000001/art00002# [Accessed 3 April 2026]
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