Header Image
Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Acirsa antarctica

(E. A. Smith, 1907)

Description:

Dimensions range from 8.6 mm - 11 mm high and 3.3 mm - 3.5 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.38:1 ~ 0.32:1

Shell: elongate; small. Exterior colour dirty whitish. About 8 whorls, very convex with fine growth lines. Spire blunt, globose. Suture deep. Imperforate. Costae are low. There is a single varix on each whorl. The varix is occasional. Intercostal spaces with irregular, interrupted spiral and axial lines which create a fine cancellate pattern. Base with an obtuse basal ridge. Aperture roundly ovate; peristome thickened, slightly expanded. Operculum yellowish, horny.


Distribution:

Antarctica; Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica, Southern Indian Ocean [Aldea & Troncoso, 2008:66].


Habitat:

8m-1847 m [Aldea & Troncoso, 2008:66].


Etymology:

named for the location of first recorded specimen.


SpeciesImage

Smith, E. A. (1907). Plate I. Fig. 10.

10 shell
10a operculum
10b shell sculpture

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Type Material:

The following list brings together type material and other cited specimens as reported in the sources examined, grouped under the names and designations used in each source. The same specimen may appear in multiple entries drawn from different sources. Some entries concern other species included by authors for comparison; inclusion in this list does not imply synonymy.
Opalia antarctica (E. A. Smith, 1907)TypeBMNH 1905.7.10.70-2. [Kaicher, 1980: EP1-2291].
Scala antarctica E. A. Smith, 1907SyntypeNHM 1905.7.10.70-72. McMurdo Sound, Hut Point, Antarctica, [3 specimens]. [Natural History Museum, 2014: NHM 1905.7.10.70-72].NHMUK 1905.7.10.70-72. Hole 12, [25-30 fthms]. [3 specimens]. [Brown & Neville, 2015: 38].


Smith, E. A. (1907).
Shown in text as Scala antarctica E. A. Smith, 1907
Species Image
Plate I. Fig. 10.
10 shell
10a operculum
10b shell sculpture
Species Image
pp: 8.
Powell, A. W. B. (1951).
Shown in text as Scala antarctica E. A. Smith, 1907
Species Image
pp: 114.
Powell, A. W. B. (1960).
Shown in text as Scala antarctica E. A. Smith, 1907
Species Image
pp: 142.
Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History (2023).
Species Image
Plate USNM 894586. Fig. USNM 894586.
Acirsa cf. antarctica (Smith, 1907)
USNM 894586.
Antarctica, Victoria Land, McMurdo Sound, Ross Island, NW of Cape Armitage (77.8567° S, 166.647° E), 28 September 1961.
Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History.
Photograph: Yuri Kantor & Guido Pastorino.
CC0.
Species Image
Fig. USNM 894586.
Acirsa cf. antarctica (Smith, 1907)
USNM 894586.
Antarctica, Victoria Land, McMurdo Sound, Ross Island, NW of Cape Armitage (77.8567° S, 166.647° E), 28 September 1961.
Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History.
Photograph: Yuri Kantor & Guido Pastorino.
CC0.
Species Image
Fig. USNM 894586.
Acirsa cf. antarctica (Smith, 1907)
USNM 894586.
Antarctica, Victoria Land, McMurdo Sound, Ross Island, NW of Cape Armitage (77.8567° S, 166.647° E), 28 September 1961.
Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History.
Photograph: Yuri Kantor & Guido Pastorino.
CC0.

Synonymy:

Acirsa antarctica (Smith, 1907) [Aldea & Troncoso, 2008: 66]
Opalia (Dentiscala) antarctica (E. A. Smith, 1907) [Weil et al., 1999: 24]
Opalia antarctica (E. A. Smith, 1907) [Kaicher, 1980: EP1-2291; Weil et al., 1999: 24]
Scala antarctica E. A. Smith, 1907 [Brown & Neville, 2015; Powell, 1951: 114; Smith, 1907: 8; Powell, 1960: 142; Brown & Neville, 2015: 38; Natural History Museum, 2014: NHM 1905.7.10.70-72]


Source Literature:

Aldea, C. & Troncoso, J. (2008). Systematics and distribution of shelled molluscs (Gastropoda, Bivalvia and Scaphopoda) from the South Shetland Islands to the Bellingshausen Sea, West Antarctica. Iberus. 26
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]
Kaicher, S.D. (1980). Epitoniidae I [Pack 23]. S. D. Kaicher, St. Petersburg, Florida. http://www.femorale.com/kaicher/species.asp?f=Epitoniidae&c=125 [Accessed 8 May 2023]
Natural History Museum (2014). NHM Collection specimens [Data set]. Natural History Museum. https://doi.org/10.5519/0002965 [Accessed 6 April 2026]
Powell, A. W. B. (1951). Antarctic and Subantarctic Mollusca. Pelecypoda and Gastropoda. Discovery Reports. 26. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.part.16335 [Accessed 16 July 2025]
Powell, A. W. B. (1960). Antarctic and Subantarctic Mollusca. Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum. 5(3/4). Auckland War Memorial Museum. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42906097 [Accessed 1 November 2025]
Smith, E. A. (1907). Mollusca and Brachiopoda in National Antarctic Expedition, "Discovery". Natural History. 2. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/6255628 [Accessed 16 July 2025]
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (2026). Invertebrate Zoology collections [Specimen database]. Smithsonian Institution. https://collections.nmnh.si.edu/search/iz/ [Accessed 22 August 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 at VLIZ. [Accessed 8 November 2025]

WoRMS direct page link: Open WoRMS record