Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Cirsotrema martyr

(Iredale, 1936)

Description:

Dimensions range from 38 mm - 55 mm high and 15 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.39:1 ~ 0.27:1

Shell: tall, moderately slender; solid, heavy, thick; moderately small to medium. Exterior colour dirty white. About 10 whorls, rounded; teleoconch with 9-10 whorls. Suture impressed. Imperforate: umbilicus closed. Approximately 14 - 16 costae on the body whorl. Costae are strong, friily, composed of closely packed lamellae. Costae recurved, twice as high as wide. Intercostal spaces faintly spirally striate. Base final whorl with a strong spiral cord; crossed by the costae which continue onto base. Fasciole connected to costae. Aperture almost circular; peristome complete; outer lip thickened by normal rib externally.

Distribution:

Endemic to Australia; known from Stanwell Park, NSW [Beechey, 2008], southwards to south of Gabo Island, Victoria [Iredale, 1936:303]

Habitat:

Offshore in rather deep water, 128m [Beechey, 2008] -265 m [Iredale, 1936:303]

Etymology:

unable to determine

Type Material:

Holotype: AMS C.60659 for Cirsotrema martyr (Iredale, 1936) - Type Locality: 55 miles [= 89 km] south of Gabo Island, Bass Strait, Australia, 115-145 fms [= 210-265 m]. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]

SpeciesImage

Iredale, T. (1936). Fig. 25.

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Iredale, T. (1936).

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Fig. 25.

Species Image

pp: 303.

original description

Kaicher, S.D. (1981).

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Card #: EP2-3127.

Holotype: Australian Museum C.60659

Wilson, B.R. (1993).

Species Image

pp: 275. Plate Pl 44, fig 4.

Beechey, D. (2008).

Species Image

pp: Cirsotrema martyr. Fig. 1.

Off Jervis Bay, NSW, in 137 m (C.121371)

Synonymy:

Dannevigena martyr Iredale, 1936 [in Macpherson, J.H. & Gabriel, C.J., 1962].

Source Literature:

Beechey, D. (2008). Shells NSW -Cirsotrema_martyr. https://seashellsofnsw.org.au/Epitoniidae/Pages/Cirsotrema_martyr.htm [Accessed 10 May 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]
Iredale, T. (1936). Australian molluscan notes. No. 2.. Records of the Australian Museum. 19(5). Australian Museum, Sydney. doi:10.3853/j.0067-1975.19.1936.704 [Accessed 14 September 2023]
Kaicher, S.D. (1981). Epitoniidae II [Pack 30]. S. D. Kaicher, St. Petersburg, Florida. http://www.femorale.com/kaicher/species.asp?f=Epitoniidae&c=125 [Accessed 8 May 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]
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