Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Epitonium candeanum

Dall, 1927

Description:

Dimensions range from 2 mm - 15 mm high and 1 mm - 6 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.5:1 ~ 0.4:1

Shell: pyramidal, elongate, conical; thick; microscopic to small. Exterior colour more or less uniform dull white to a light or reddish brown, often with two faint chestnut bands, costae white. About 13 whorls, rounded, elevated, attached; protoconch with ~8 whorls smooth; teleoconch with 3-5 whorls. Spire with angle of 35 - 40 degrees. Suture deeply impressed. Imperforate: with a small parietal shield extending over the umbilical area. Approximately 12 - 25 costae on the body whorl. Costae are strong, blade-like, on the body whorl these costae pass below the parietal shield and into the umbilicus and above they extend well into the suture, a factor causing the whorls to become nearly separated, mostly thin, some thick, strong, blade-like the costae pass below the parietal shield and into the umbilicus and above they extend well into the suture. Occasional may show rare, distant varices varix appearing randomly on the shell. Costae continuous; sometimes develop small angles ore spine at the shoulder; occasionally reflected. Intercostal spaces numerous, fine, distinct ridges which are crossed by exceedingly fine axial threads. Base without basal ridge. Columella short and arched. Aperture oval, small; outer lip thickened and somewhat expanded. Operculum paucispiral, thin and yellowish-brown.

Sowerby's description was composite: he applied the name 'turricula' to two very different specimens., E.A. Smith, 1890 clarified that Scalaria turricula sensu Sowerby (pl. 34, fig. 88) should be restricted to the West Indian specimen = S. candeana. The Catanuan (Philippines) specimen (pl. 33, fig. 61) represented a different species, which he named S. confusa [now Epitonium umbilicatum (Pease, 1869)]

Distribution:

Entire Gulf of Mexico [Rosenberg et al., 2009:641], Florida, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and south through the Lesser Antilles to Barbados [Clench & Turner, 1952: ], Suriname [van Regteren Altena, 1975:27]; Brazil to Uruguay [Rios, 1985:156]. Hernández-Otero & M.H [2003:85] cite eastern Atlantic records from the Canary Islands with Segers et al., [2009:7] recording specimens from Madeira and the Selvagens Archipelago.

Habitat:

intertidal to 734 m (Clench & Turner 1952: 303).

Etymology:

Named in honour of Mr. de Candé who was a 19th-century French malacologist known for his contributions to the study of Caribbean molluscs. Mr. de Candé is credited with collecting specimens from various Caribbean islands, including Jamaica and Saint Thomas, which were subsequently described in d'Orbigny's publications.

SpeciesImage

Orbigny, A. D. d' (1842). Plate XI. Fig. 28.

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Type Material:

Sowerby's description of Scalaria turricula was composite, comprising a West Indian specimen figured on plate 34, figure 88, which represents Epitonium candeanum, and a specimen from Catanuan Island, Luzon, Philippines, figured on plate 33, figure 61, which represents the Indo-Pacific taxon subsequently described as Scalaria confusa [Sowerby, 1844: 92; Brown & Neville, 2015: 154]. Nyst [1871: 142] recognised the homonymy of Sowerby's name and replaced it with Scalaria turrita, giving the locality as 'Indes occidentales', but did not address the composite nature of the original account [Brown & Neville, 2015: 154].

Clench & Turner [1952: 301] considered the type material of E. candeanum likely to be held in the British Museum and restricted its type locality to Kingston, Jamaica, based on specimens they had examined. The NHM online catalogue records five syntypes, NHM 1854.10.4.206, under Scalaria candeana A. d'Orbigny, 1842, with the type locality given as St. Thomas, Antilles [Natural History Museum, 2014: NHM 1854.10.4.206].

The NHM online catalogue separately records two syntypes, NHM 1981211, under S. turricula, with the type locality given as Luzon, Philippines [Natural History Museum, 2014: NHM 1981211], associating this material with the Philippine component of Sowerby's composite account.

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.

Epitonium candeanum Dall, 1927SyntypeUSNM 108017. [Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, 2026: USNM 108017].TypeBMNH. [Clench & Turner, 1952: 301].
Scalaria acuta Pfeiffer, 1840TypeNHMUK. Jamaica and St. Thomas. type locality restricted to Kingston, Jamaica in Clench & Turner (1952: 302). [Brown & Neville, 2015: 49].
Scalaria candeana A. d'Orbigny, 1842SyntypeNHM 1854.10.4.206. St. Thomas, Antilles, [5 specimens]. [Natural History Museum, 2014: NHM 1854.10.4.206].
Scalaria nuda G. B. Sowerby II, 1874Type [location unknown]not designated. [Brown & Neville, 2015: 114].
Scalaria turricula G. B. Sowerby II, 1844SyntypeNHM 1981211. Isle of Luzon, Philippines. [2 specimens]. [Natural History Museum, 2014: NHM 1981211].NHMUK 1981211. West Indies and Catanuan Island, Luzon, Philippines. Sowerby was obviously describing two different species. Nyst (1871: 142) recognised the homonymy of Sowerby's name and replaced it with Scalaria turrita, giving a locality of 'Indes occidentales', but did not address the composite nature. [Brown & Neville, 2015: 154].

Orbigny, A. D. d' (1842).

Species Image

Plate XI. Fig. 28.

Species Image

Plate XI. Fig. 29-30.

Species Image

pp: 20.

Shell conical, imperforate, thin, whitish, ornamented with narrow, uneven, numerous ribs; spire elongated; whorls convex, finely striated transversely and longitudinally.

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

Shown in text as Scalaria turricula G. B. Sowerby II, 1844

Species Image

Plate xxxiii. Fig. 61.

Catanuan Isl. Luzon, Philippines
E.A. Smith, 1890 states The Catanuan (Philippines) specimen (pl. 33, fig. 61) represented a different species, which he named S. confusa.

Species Image

Plate xxxiv. Fig. 88.

West Indies.
E.A. Smith, 1890 states that Scalaria turricula sensu Sowerby (pl. 34, fig. 88) should be restricted to the West Indian specimen = S. candeana.

Species Image

pp: 92.

T. elongated, umbilicated, often finely striated transversely; with numerous, rounded whorls, gradually increasing; with sub-numerous varices, mostly thin, some thick; oval, small aperture; white or irregularly fulvous in colour.

Gray, J.E., Orbigny, A,D,d', & British Museum Natural History (1854).

Species Image

pp: 18.

record of specimen from Cuba held in BMNH

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

Shown in text as Scalaria nuda G. B. Sowerby II, 1874

Species Image

Plate xiv. Fig. 110a.

Species Image

Plate xiv. Fig. 110b.

Species Image

Shell shortly pyramidal, thick, smooth; lightly ribbed, partly flattened below, armed with very rare, distant varices.

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

Shown in text as Scalaria turricula G. B. Sowerby II, 1844

Species Image

Plate viii. Fig. 59a.

Species Image

Plate viii. Fig. 59b.

Mörch [Mørch], O. A. L (1875a).

Shown in text as Scala candeana A. d'Orbigny, 1842

Species Image

pp: 264.

Mörch [Mørch], O. A. L (1875a).

Shown in text as Scalaria turricula G. B. Sowerby II, 1844

Species Image

pp: 262-263.

Mörch [Mørch], O. A. L (1875b).

Shown in text as Scalaria turricula G. B. Sowerby II, 1844

Species Image

pp: 150.

Mörch [Mørch], O. A. L (1875b).

Shown in text as Scala candeana A. d'Orbigny, 1842

Species Image

pp: 150.

Tryon, G.W. (1887).

Shown in text as Scalaria candeana A. d'Orbigny, 1842

Species Image

Plate 16. Fig. 96.

Species Image

pp: 77.

Tryon, G.W. (1887).

Shown in text as Scalaria turricula G. B. Sowerby II, 1844, Scalaria nuda G. B. Sowerby II, 1874

Species Image

Plate 16. Fig. 13.

Species Image

Plate 13. Fig. 6.

Species Image

pp: 79.

Smith, E. A. (1890).

Species Image

pp: 273.

Clarification of Sowerby's [1844] composite description

Clessin, S. (1897).

Shown in text as Scalaria turricula G. B. Sowerby II, 1844

Species Image

Plate 7. Fig. 2-3.

Species Image

pp: 26.

Narrow, pyramidal, umbilicate shell, very finely spirally striated, yellowish-reddish in colour between the varices; whorls numerous, elevated, and contiguous; varices frequent, white, mostly thin, with some thicker; aperture ovate, small.
Shell narrow, pyramidal, umbilicate, very finely spirally striated, yellowish-reddish between the longitudinal ribs; whorls numerous, fairly high, connected; longitudinal ribs numerous, white, sometimes very thin, never strong; aperture egg-shaped, small.
Habitat: West Indies.

Clessin, S. (1897).

Shown in text as Scalaria nuda G. B. Sowerby II, 1874

Species Image

Plate 7. Fig. 9-10.

Species Image

pp: 28-9.

T. short, pyramidal, thick, smooth, slightly costellate (with small ribs), somewhat flattened below; armed with very rare, widely spaced varices.

Clench, W. J. & Turner, R. D. (1952b).

Species Image

pp: 303. Plate 141. Fig. 1-2.

Lake Worth, Florida (Fig. 1, about 10x; Fig. 2, 16x).

Species Image

pp: 302. Plate 140. Fig. 1-2.

Fig 1. Off Fowey Light, Florida (about 19.5x).
Fig. 2. Lake Worth, Boynton, Florida (10.5x).

Natural History Museum (2014).

Shown in text as Scalaria candeana A. d'Orbigny, 1842

Species Image

Fig. 1854.10.4.20.

Scalaria candeana A.D.Orb., 1842
Syntype: 1854.10.4.206
St. Thomas, Antilles
The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London
CC0

Natural History Museum (2014).

Shown in text as Scalaria turricula G. B. Sowerby II, 1844

Species Image

Fig. NHM 1981211.

Scalaria turricula G. B. Sowerby II, 1844
Syntypes [2]: NHM 1981211
Isle of Luzon, Philippines
The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London
CCO

Synonymy:

Scala antillarum de Boury, 1909 [Brown & Neville, 2015: 38]
Scala candeana A. d'Orbigny, 1842 [Mörch [Mørch], 1875a: 264; Mörch [Mørch], 1875b: 150]
Scalaria acuta Pfeiffer, 1840 [Brown & Neville, 2015: 49]
Scalaria candeana A. d'Orbigny, 1842 [Gray et al., 1854: 18; Orbigny, 1842: 20; Tryon, 1887: 77; Natural History Museum, 2014: NHM 1854.10.4.206]
Scalaria nuda G. B. Sowerby II, 1874 [Brown & Neville, 2015: 114; Reeve, 1873: pl.14, fig.110a-b; Clessin, 1897: 28]
Scalaria turricula G. B. Sowerby II, 1844 [Sowerby, 1844: 92; Brown & Neville, 2015: 154; Reeve, 1873: pl.8, fig.59a-b; Clessin, 1897: 26; Mörch [Mørch], 1875a: 262; Brazier, 1875: 250; Tryon, 1887: 79; Mörch [Mørch], 1875b: 150; Natural History Museum, 2014: NHM 1981211]

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]
Clench, W. J. & Turner, R. D. (1952). The Genus Epitonium in the Western Atlantic pt 2. Jonsonia. 2(31). The Department of Mollusks Museum of Comparative Zoology Harvard University. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/41155986#page/303/mode/1up [Accessed 25 June 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]
Coomans, H.E. (1974). Life and Malacological Work of Hendrik Elingsz van Rijgersma (1835-1877) a Dutch physician and scientist on St. Martin, Netherlands Antilles. Bijdragen tot de Dierkunde (Contributions to Zoology). 44(2). https://doi.org/10.1163/26660644-04402001 [Accessed 28 January 2026]
de Oliveira, F.M.R & Rocha-Barreira, C.d A, (2009). On the family Epitoniidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) in North and Northeast Brazil. Arquivos de Ciencias do Mar. 42(1)
Gray, J.E., Orbigny, A,D,d', & British Museum Natural History (1854). List of the shells of Cuba in the Collection of the British Museum collected by M. Ramon de la Sagra. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/53712094 [Accessed 12 June 2025]
Hernández-Otero, J.M. & Garcia, M.H. (2003). Mollusca: Clase Gastropoda: Apogastropoda, Archaeogastropoda, Basommatophora, Heterostropha y Onchiida. In L. Moro, J.L. Martín, M.J. Garrido and I. Izquierdo (ed.). Lista de especies marinas de Canarias (algas, hongos, plantas y animales) 2003. Islas Canarias: Consejería de Política Territorial y Medio Ambiente del Gobierno de Canarias.
Miyaji, C. (2004). Classe Gastropoda. In A. C. Z. Amaral & C. L. B. Rossi-Wongtschowski (Eds.), Biodiversidade bentônica da região Sudeste-Sul do Brasil - Plataforma Externa e Talude Superior (Séries Documentos REVIZEE: Score Sul). Instituto Oceanográfico.. https://www.marinha.mil.br/secirm/sites/www.marinha.mil.br.secirm/files/documentos/revizee/score-sul-6.pdf [Accessed 12 November 2025]
Mörch [Mørch], O. A. L (1875a). Synopsis familiæ Scalidarum Indiarum occidentalium. Oversigt over Vestindiens Scalarier [Overview of the scalariids of the West Indies]. Videnskabelige Meddelelser fra den Naturhistoriske Forening i Kjöbenhavn.. 17. http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/35853322 [Accessed 22 August 2025]
Mörch [Mørch], O. A. L (1875b). Synopsis Molluscorum marinorum Indiarum occidentalium. Malacozoological Papers for 1874; continuing the Zeitschrift für Malakozoologie; edited by Dr Louis Pfeiffer.. 22. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/54067 [Accessed 5 January 2026]
Natural History Museum (2014). NHM Collection specimens [Data set]. Natural History Museum. https://doi.org/10.5519/0002965 [Accessed 6 April 2026]
Orbigny, A. D. d' (1842). Mollusques. Histoire physique, politique et naturelle de l'ile de Cuba. 56(1). https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/43337080 [Accessed 9 July 2025]
Reeve, L. A. (1873). Monograph of the genus Scalaria. Conchologia iconica, or illustrations of the shells of molluscous animal. 19. London. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8217819 [Accessed 24 August 2023]
Regteren Altena, C. O. van (1975). The Marine Mollusca of Suriname (Dutch Guiana) Holocene and recent Part III. Gastropoda and Cephalopoda. Zoologische Verhandelingen. 139. https://archive.org/details/zoologische-verhandelingen-139-001-104 [Accessed 26 June 2026]
Rios, E. de C. (1985). Seashells of Brazil. Fundação Universidade do Rio Grande.
Rosenberg, G., Moretzsohn, F. & García, E. (2009). Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico. Gulf of Mexico: Its Origins, Waters, and Biota.Vol 1: Biodiversity. D. L. Felder & D. K. Camp, eds,. Texas A & M University Press
Segers, W., Swinnen, F. & Abreu, A. (2009). An annotated checklist of the marine molluscs from the archipelagos of Madeira and the Selvagens [NE Atlantic Ocean]. Bocagiana. 226. https://www.academia.edu/79542442/An_annotated_checklist_of_the_marine_molluscs_from_the_Archipelagos_of_Madeira_and_the_Selvagens_NE_Atlantic_Ocean_ [Accessed 18 June 2026]
Smith, E. A. (1890). Report on the marine molluscan fauna of the island of St. Helena. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London,. https://biostor.org/reference/99510 [Accessed 11 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]
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]
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 at VLIZ. [Accessed 8 November 2025]

WoRMS direct page link: Open WoRMS record