Gyroscala statuminata

(G. B. Sowerby, 1844)

Description:

Dimensions range from 11 mm - 25 mm high and 7 mm - 9.1 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.64:1 ~ 0.36:1

Shell: short; thick; small to moderately small. Exterior colour blue white. About 10 whorls, rapidly expanding, contiguous. Suture deep. Imperforate. Approximately 5 costae on the body whorl. Costae are thick, prominent, united with each other to form oblique ridges along the spire. Costae expanded near the suture into an elevated angle; reflected; continuous at the apex, joined across the whorls, continuous. Base disk present but not prominent, with a rather weak thread defining the base. Aperture sub-round, roundish, lip complete, heavy; outer lip thin at the anterior. Operculum unknown.

[DuShane, 1985:73] observed the animal emerging from silty mud at low tide 'With a turning motion the entire shell slowly rotates out of the substrate', Dushane speculates 'that in its search for food, the large, reflected, rounded costae help the animal to slip from its subsurface habitat in the mud'

Distribution:

Sinaloa, Mexico, to Peru [Dushane, 1974]

Habitat:

Intertidal to 36 m [Dushane, 1974]; silty mud [DuShane, 1985:69]

Etymology:

[latin] from statumen = support or prop, possibly in reference to the way the costae are joined across the whorls. The synonym Epitonium strongi Lowe, 1932, is named in honour of A.M. Strong, an American malacologist recognised for contributions to the study of marine gastropods.

Type Material:

Lectotype & paralectotypes NHMUK 1966654/1-2 designated by DuShane (1974: 37) for Gyroscala statuminata (G. B. Sowerby, 1844) - Type Locality: Hayti [=Paita (DuShane loc. cit.)], Peru. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]
Holotype: ANSP 155535 [as Epitonium strongi Lowe, 1932: ~ Epitonium strongianum Lowe, 1932b] - Type Locality: La Union, Gulf of Fonseca, San Salvador. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]
Holotype: 155535 ANSP [as Gyroscala statuminata (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844)] - Type Locality: La Union, Gulf of Fonseca, San Salvador (Lowe, 1931).. [Lowe, H. N., 1932]

Murrell (2025).

Farfan Beach, Panama
Found on exposed sand at low tide.

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Sowerby, G. B. II. (1844).

Plate xxxv. Fig. 127.

pp: 102.

T. small, thick, short, smooth, imperforate; with contiguous whorls, barely prominent, encircled anteriorly by a raised line; five prominent varices, continuous at the apex, thickened anteriorly, expanded posteriorly into a raised angle; sub-round aperture, with thin outer lip anteriorly; blue in colour between the varices.

Sowerby, G. B. II. (1873).

Plate iii. Fig. 18.

Tryon, G.W. (1887).

Plate 12. Fig. 60.

pp: 58.

Clessin, S. (1897).

Plate 3. Fig. 5.

pp: 8-9.

Shell white, bluish between the varices, short, thick, imperforate; whorls sloping, contiguous, keeled in front; varices thick, prominent, obliquely continuous; expanded near the suture into an elevated angle.

Dall, W. H. (1917).

pp: 488.

Lowe, H. N. (1932).

Shown in text as Gyroscala statuminata (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844)

Plate 9. Fig. 5.

pp: 115.

Keen, A. M. (1958).

pp: 275. Fig. 131.

DuShane, H. (1974).

pp: 42. Fig. 77.

Scalaria statuminata Sowerby, 1844.
Lectotype (here-in) (1), BMINH]
length 20.37 mm; width 8.51 mm;
paralectotypes (herein) (2) BM[NH]

Murrell (2025).

Farfan Beach, Panama
Found on exposed sand at low tide.

Synonymy:

Epitonium statuminatum (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844) · [in Alamo, V. & Valdivieso, V. M., 1997].
Epitonium strongi Lowe, 1932: ~ Epitonium strongianum Lowe, 1932b [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].
Epitonium strongianum Lowe, 1932 [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].
Gyroscala statuminata (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844) [in Lowe, H. N., 1932].

Source Literature:

Alamo, V. & Valdivieso, V. M. (1997). Lista sistemática de moluscos marinos del Perú (2nd ed., Publicación Especial No. 2). Instituto del Mar del Perú, Callao: Peru. 26-27. https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12958/1436 [Accessed 19 October 2025]
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]
Clessin, S. (1897). Die Familie der Scalariidae. In W. Kobelt (Ed.), Systematisches Conchylien-Cabinet von Martini und Chemnitz. Neu herausgegeben und vervollständigt. 2(13). Bauer & Raspe, NürnbergBauer & Raspe, Nürnberg. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34259905 [Accessed 21 June 2025]
DuShane, H. (1974). The Panamic-Galapagan Epitoniidae. The Veliger. 16 (Sup. 14). https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42500298 [Accessed 25 September 2023]
DuShane, H. (1985). The family Epitoniidae of Panama Bay. The Festivus. 17(7). https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/196075 [Accessed 11 January 2026]
Keen, A. M. (1958). Sea shells of tropical west America; marine mollusks from Lower California to Colombia. Stanford Univ. Press;
Lowe, H. N. (1932). On four new species of Epitonium from western Central America.. The Nautilus. 45(4). https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8527948 [Accessed 2 September 2025]
Sowerby, G. B. II. (1844). Monograph of the genus Scalaria.. Thesaurus conchyliorum, or monographs of genera of shells.. 1 (4). London, privately published.. http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/11076419 [Accessed 22 June 2023]
Sowerby, G. B. II. (1873). Monograph of the genus Scalaria. Conchologia iconica, or illustrations of the shells of molluscous animals, vol. 19, pls 1-16 and unpaginated text.. 19. London. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8217819 [Accessed 24 August 2023]
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
WoRMS Editorial Board (2025). World Register of Marine Species. https://www.marinespecies.org [Accessed 8 November 2025]

WoRMS direct page link: Open WoRMS record

Gyroscala statuminata

(G. B. Sowerby, 1844)

Description:

Distribution:

Sinaloa, Mexico, to Peru [Dushane, 1974]

Habitat:

Intertidal to 36 m [Dushane, 1974]; silty mud [DuShane, 1985:69]

Etymology:

[latin] from statumen = support or prop, possibly in reference to the way the costae are joined across the whorls. The synonym Epitonium strongi Lowe, 1932, is named in honour of A.M. Strong, an American malacologist recognised for contributions to the study of marine gastropods.

Type Material:

Distribution

Sowerby, G. B. II. (1844).

Plate xxxv. Fig. 127.

pp: 102.

Sowerby, G. B. II. (1873).

Plate iii. Fig. 18.

Tryon, G.W. (1887).

Plate 12. Fig. 60.

pp: 58.

Clessin, S. (1897).

Plate 3. Fig. 5.

pp: 8-9.

Shell white, bluish between the varices, short, thick, imperforate; whorls sloping, contiguous, keeled in front; varices thick, prominent, obliquely continuous; expanded near the suture into an elevated angle.

Dall, W. H. (1917).

pp: 488.

Lowe, H. N. (1932).

Shown in text as Gyroscala statuminata (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844)

Plate 9. Fig. 5.

pp: 115.

Keen, A. M. (1958).

pp: 275. Fig. 131.

DuShane, H. (1974).

pp: 42. Fig. 77.

Scalaria statuminata Sowerby, 1844. Lectotype (here-in) (1), BMINH] length 20.37 mm; width 8.51 mm; paralectotypes (herein) (2) BM[NH]

Murrell (2025).

Farfan Beach, Panama Found on exposed sand at low tide.

Synonymy:

Source Literature:

WoRMS direct page link: Open WoRMS record

Scalaria statuminata Sowerby, 1844.
Lectotype (here-in) (1), BMINH]
length 20.37 mm; width 8.51 mm;
paralectotypes (herein) (2) BM[NH]

Farfan Beach, Panama
Found on exposed sand at low tide.