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Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Eglisia tricarinata

A. Adams & Reeve, 1850

Description:

Dimensions range from 21.5 mm - 55 mm high and 10.7 mm - 12.18 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.5:1 ~ 0.22:1

Shell: sharply turreted; moderately small to medium. Exterior colour buff. About 18 whorls. Suture deep, slightly foliose. Costae are fine, regular crowded. Intercostal spaces minute spiral threads in interstices, the upper and lower cords weak, central cords strong, sometimes with minute spiral threads in the interspaces. Interstices with approximately 3 - 4 spiral striae per whorl. Base basal sculpture finely cancellate with axial threads crossing almost equal spiral threads. Columella thick and rolled at the base forming a slightly projecting anterior end. Aperture small, round.


Distribution:

Indo-West Pacific; Andaman Islands; China Seas, Japan; Rottnest Island, WA to Southern Queensland Australia


Habitat:

intertidal to 80m on sandy substrate


Etymology:

[latin] from tri = three and carinatus = having a keel shaped ridge, in reference to the three keels on the body whorl


Type Material:

Type not located. [as Eglisia tricarinata A. Adams & Reeve, 1850: ~ Eglisia cumingii A. Adams, 1851.] - Type Locality: China Sea.. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]
Holotype: NHMUK 1897.6.30.3, geounit Andaman Island [as Turritella leptomita Melvill & Sykes, 1897]. [Melville, J.C. & Sykes, E.R., 1897]
Type not listed in source data for Eglisia tricarinata A. Adams & Reeve, 1850 - Type Locality: China Sea. [Higo, S., Callomon, P. & Goto, Y., 1999]


SpeciesImage

Reeve, L. A. (1849). Plate 1. Fig. 3.

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Reeve, L. A. (1849).
Species Image
Plate 1. Fig. 3.
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original description
Tryon, G.W. (1887).
Shown in text as Eglisia tricarinata A. Adams & Reeve, 1849
Species Image
Plate 18. Fig. 61.
Var. CONSPERSA, Ads. and Reeve.
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Plate 18. Fig. 60.
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pp: 86.
Melville, J.C. & Sykes, E.R. (1897).
Shown in text as Turritella leptomita Melvill & Sykes, 1897
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Plate XIII. Fig. 12.
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Plate XIII. Fig. 12a.
detail of shell sculpture
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pp: 171.
Wilson, B.R. (1993).
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pp: 275. Plate pl.14, fig. 10a-b.
Nakayama, T. (2003).
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pp: 109. Plate 3. Fig. 12-13.
figs 12-14: Eglisia tricarinata Adams & Reeve, 1850
height 38.0 mm; breadth 11.0 mm (ND);
fig. 14, base
figs 15-16: height 45.0 mm; breadth 10.7 mm (WMNH-Mo71430)
Species Image
pp: 109. Plate 3. Fig. 14.
figs 12-14: Eglisia tricarinata Adams & Reeve, 1850

fig. 14, base
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pp: 109. Plate 3. Fig. 15-16.
figs 15-16: height 45.0 mm; breadth 10.7 mm (WMNH-Mo71430)

Synonymy:

Eglisia tricarinata A. Adams & Reeve, 1849 [in Tryon, G.W., 1887].
Eglisia tricarinata A. Adams & Reeve, 1850: ~ Eglisia cumingii A. Adams, 1851. [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].
Turritella leptomita Melvill & Sykes, 1897 [in Melville, J.C. & Sykes, E.R., 1897].


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]
Higo, S., Callomon, P. & Goto, Y. (1999). Catalogue and Bibliography of the Marine Shell-Bearing Mollusca of Japan.. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266375656_Catalogue_and_Bibliography_of_the_Marine_Shell-Bearing_Mollusca_of_Japan [Accessed 25 July 2025]
Melville, J.C. & Sykes, E.R. (1897). NOTES ON A COLLECTION OF MARINE SHELLS FROM THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS, WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW SPECIES. Proceedings of the Malacological Society of London. 2. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/202642 [Accessed 21 June 2025]
Nakayama, T. (2003). A Review of Northwest Pacific Epitoniids. Monographs of Marine Mollusca. 6. Backhuys Publishers
Reeve, L. A. (1849). Monograph of the genera Mesalia and Eglisia. Conchologia Iconica, or, illustrations of the shells of molluscous animals,. 5(1). L. Reeve & Co., London. http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8967325 [Accessed 19 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
Wilson, B.R. (1993). Australian Marine Shells. Australian Marine Shells. 1. Odessey Publications
WoRMS Editorial Board (2025). World Register of Marine Species. https://www.marinespecies.org [Accessed 8 November 2025]

WoRMS direct page link: Open WoRMS record