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Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Epitonium beachportense

(Cotton & Godfrey, 1938)

Description:

Dimensions range from 5 mm - 9 mm high and 4 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.8:1 ~ 0.44:1

Shell: Squat; minute to small. Exterior colour shiny white. About 10 whorls, convex, expanding rapidly; protoconch with ~4 whorls smooth, polished, sharp; teleoconch with ~6 whorls. Imperforate. Approximately 16 - 18 costae on the body whorl. Costae are thin, erect. Costae continuous from whorl to whorl; peaked angle below the suture, forming a right angled shoulder, not peaked. Intercostal spaces with fine spiral striae. Interstices with approximately 15 - 20 spiral striae per whorl. Aperture oval, free.


Distribution:

South Australia; Beachport, South Australia, [Cotton & Godfrey, 1938:203]; Taiwan [Huang & Lee, 2016:5].


Habitat:

off shore in rather deep water, 201 m.


Etymology:

Named after Beachport SA, the collection location of the holotype.


Type Material:

The holotype record D13302, as listed by Kaicher [1981:EP2-3057], Brown & Neville [2015:43], and Cotton & Godfrey [1938:203], could not be located in the South Australian Museum [2026] online records.

Holotype: Sth Australia Museum D13302 for Epitonium beachportense (Cotton & Godfrey, 1938). [Kaicher, S.D., 1981]
Holotype: SM D.13302 [as Scala beachportensis Cotton & Godfrey, 1938] - Type Locality: Beachport, South Australia, 110 fms [= 201 m].. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]
Holotype: South Australian Museum D. 13302 [as Scala (Mazescala) beachportensis Cotton & Godfrey, 1938] - Type Locality: Beachport, S. Aust., 110 fathoms [201m]. [Cotton, B.C. & Godfrey, F.K., 1938]


SpeciesImage

Huang, C. W. & Lee, Y.C. (2016). pp: 5. Fig. c.

Epitonium (Parviscala) beachportensis (Cotton & Godfrey, 1938)
5.2×2.6mm

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Cotton, B.C. & Godfrey, F.K. (1938).
Shown in text as As Scala beachportensis
Species Image
pp: 203.
original description
Kaicher, S.D. (1981).
Species Image
Card #: EP2-3057.
Huang, C. W. & Lee, Y.C. (2016).
Species Image
pp: 5. Fig. c.
Epitonium (Parviscala) beachportensis (Cotton & Godfrey, 1938)
5.2×2.6mm

Synonymy:

Epitonium (Parviscala) beachportense (Cotton & Godfrey, 1938) [in Huang, C. W. & Lee, Y.C., 2016].
Epitonium (Parviscala) beachportensis (Cotton & Godfrey, 1938) [in Huang, C. W. & Lee, Y.C., 2016].
Scala (Mazescala) beachportensis Cotton & Godfrey, 1938 [in Cotton, B.C. & Godfrey, F.K., 1938].
Scala beachportensis Cotton & Godfrey, 1938 [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].


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]
Cotton, B.C. & Godfrey, F.K. (1938). New species of South Australian Gastropoda. Records of the South Australian Museum. 6. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/78807 [Accessed 5 July 2025]
Huang, C. W. & Lee, Y.C. (2016). Checklist of the family Epitoniidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) in Taiwan with description of a new species and some new records. Biodiversity Data Journal. 4. doi: 10.3897/ BDJ.4.e5653 [Accessed 25 August 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]
South Australian Museum (2026). South Australian Museum Adelaide provider for OZCAM. Atlas of Living Australia. https://doi.org/10.15468/wz4rrh accessed via GBIF.org [Accessed 21 July 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 [Accessed 8 November 2025]

WoRMS direct page link: Open WoRMS record