Header Image
Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Amaea kushimotensis

T. Nakayama, 2000

Description:

Dimensions range from 5 mm - 10 mm high and 2.5 mm - 3.8 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.5:1 ~ 0.38:1

Shell: acuminate; minute to small. Exterior colour brown to white. About 1.5 whorls, convex; protoconch with ~1.5 whorls smooth, usually defected. Suture deep. Imperforate. Approximately 10 costae on the body whorl. Intercostal spaces spiral striae which cross the costae. Interstices with approximately 12 - 13 spiral striae per whorl. Base well developed basal disc with a strong peripheral keel;, with a strong peripheral keel and well developed basal disc. Columella margin thick. Aperture ovate; peristome doubled, complete; outer lip thick.


Distribution:

Kii Peninsula, Japan; East China Sea (L. Brown 2009: 22, fig. 6).


Habitat:

at about 100m deep., 100 m.


Etymology:

Named for Kushimoto, Japan, the type locality.


Type Material:

Holotype: NSMT Mo-71412, height 5.0 mm; breadth 2.5 mm.
Paratype: Nagai Collection, height 9.8 mm; breadth 3.8 mm. [as Amaea (Narvaliscala) kushimotensis Nakayama, 2000] - Type Locality: Off Kushimoto, Kii Peninsula, at about 100m deep.. [Nakayama, 2000: 281]
Holotype: NSMT-Mo 71412 for Amaea kushimotensis T. Nakayama, 2000 - Type Locality: Off Kushimoto, Kii Peninsula, Wakayama Japan. 100m. Collected 23/2/1997. [National Museum of Nature and Science, 2026: NSMT-Mo 71412]


SpeciesImage

Nakayama, T. (2003). pp: 107. Plate 2. Fig. 16-17.

Amaea (Narvaliscala) kushimotensis Nakayama, 2000
Holotype
height 5.0 mm; breadth 2.5 mm

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Nakayama, T. (2000).
Shown in text as Amaea (Narvaliscala) kushimotensis Nakayama, 2000
Species Image
pp: 281.
Nakayama, T. (2003).
Shown in text as Amaea (Narvaliscala) kushimotensis Nakayama, 2000
Species Image
pp: 107. Plate 2. Fig. 16-17.
Amaea (Narvaliscala) kushimotensis Nakayama, 2000
Holotype
height 5.0 mm; breadth 2.5 mm

Synonymy:

Amaea (?) kushimotensis Nakayama, 2000 [Brown, 2009: 22]
Amaea (Narvaliscala) kushimotensis Nakayama, 2000 [Nakayama, 2000: 281; Nakayama, 2003: 13; Brown & Neville, 2015: 93]


Source Literature:

Brown, L. (2009). Report on the Epitoniidae of the East China Sea. American Conchologist: quarterly bulletin of the Conchologists of America, Inc. 37(2). Lipps-National Press. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/321313 [Accessed 23 July 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]
Nakayama, T. (2000). Descriptions of a New Subgenus,Fourteen New Species,and Thee Substituted Names of Epitoniids from Japan. VENUS. 59(4). Malacological Society of Japan. https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/venusjjm/59/4/59_KJ00004345136/_pdf [Accessed 24 August 2023]
Nakayama, T. (2003). A Review of Northwest Pacific Epitoniids. Monographs of Marine Mollusca. 6. Backhuys Publishers
National Museum of Nature and Science (2026). Collection database of specimens and materials: Mollusca. National Museum of Nature and Science Mollusca database. https://db.kahaku.go.jp/webmuseum_en/search?cls=col_a2_19 [Accessed 9 August 2026]
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