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Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Epitonium marmoratum

(G. B. Sowerby II, 1844)

Description:

Dimensions range from 12.32 mm - 25 mm high and 5.32 mm - 7.9 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.43:1 ~ 0.32:1

Shell: moderately stout, pyramidal; fragile; small to moderately small. Exterior colour apex purple, white to fawn with marbled reddish-brown bands and spots, peristome white, costae white. About 9 whorls, convex, usually slightly separate; teleoconch with 8-9 whorls. Suture deep or fenestrated. Umbilicate: fenestrated. Approximately 9 costae on the body whorl. Costae are Iaminated, narrow,, thin, sharp edged. Costae hooked at the shoulders; reflected at the edge. Intercostal spaces smooth. Columella ribs fused where they meet the columellar. Aperture ovate; peristome complete.

Reeve [1873] notes that E. marmoratum is distinguished from Epitonium alatum (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844) and Epitonium fasciatum (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844) by the marbled markings, and by the narrow and obtusely angular whorls., Tryon [1879: 56] remarks that this species differs from E fasciatum by its more numerous, angulated whorls, thinner and more irregular varices, and colouring


Distribution:

Amami Islands to Okinawa, Japan; Philippines; Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Fiji; Cairns, Queensland, Australia; India


Habitat:

intertidal to 30 m, sand [Higo, et al., 1999: 180]


Etymology:

from marmoratus [latin] = marbled


Type Material:

Syntype: NHMUK 1981046 [as Scalaria marmorata G.B. Sowerby II, 1844: ~ Scalaria mariei Crosse, 1873.] - Locality: India. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]
Syntype: MNHN-IM-2000-4315 [as Scalaria mariei Crosse, 1873 ·] - Locality: New Caledonia.. [MNHN, 2025]
Type not indicated in text for Epitonium marmoratum (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844) - Locality: 'India'. Sowerby added, however: 'We have no information as to the locality of this species....Mr. Cuming's collection'. [Higo, S., Callomon, P. & Goto, Y., 1999]
Type not indicated in text [as Epitonium marmoratum (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844)] - Locality: : New Caledonia. [Higo, S., Callomon, P. & Goto, Y., 1999]


SpeciesImage

Sowerby, G. B. II. (1844). Plate xxxii. Fig. 9.

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Sowerby, G. B. II. (1844).
Shown in text as Scalaria marmorata G. B. Sowerby II, 1844)
Species Image
Plate xxxii. Fig. 9.
Species Image
pp: 85.
Original description
Sowerby, G. B. II. (1873-1874).
Species Image
Plate iii. Fig. 16.
Species Image
Tryon, G.W. (1879).
Shown in text as Scalaria marmorata G. B. Sowerby II, 1844
Species Image
Plate 11. Fig. 42.
Species Image
pp: 56.
Tryon, G.W. (1879).
Shown in text as Scalaria mariei Crosse, 1873
Species Image
Plate 12. Fig. 87.
Species Image
pp: 59.
Clessin, S. (1897).
Shown in text as Scalaria marmorata G. B. Sowerby II, 1844
Species Image
Plate 8. Fig. 5.
Species Image
pp: 30.
Shell pyramidal, smooth, pale; marbled between the varices with interrupted spots and bands; varices laminar, narrow, thin, obtusely angled above, sloping toward the suture.
Kaicher, S. (1972).
Species Image
Card #: EP1-2391.
Kaicher, S. (1972).
Shown in text as Epitonium mariei (Crosse, 1873) · unaccepted
Species Image
Card #: EP3-3598.
(Paris Museum - holotype)
Wilson, B.R. (1993).
Species Image
pp: 379. Plate 44. Fig. 18.
Garcia, E.F. (2003).
Species Image
pp: 19. Fig. 64.
67: EpitoniumfEpitonium)marmoratum(Sowerby,1844)NewCaledonia,GrandRécifSud,22''48'S,166°47'E,27
m. [ORSTOM: sta. 340], length 18.0 mm
Nakayama, T. (2003).
Species Image
pp: 127. Plate 12. Fig. 3.
figs 3-6:
Epitonium (Lamelliscala) marmoratum (Sowerby, 1844) height 15.2 mm; breadth 7.9 mm (NSMT-Mo 71428)
MNHN (2025).
Shown in text as Scalaria mariei Crosse, 1873 ·
Species Image
MNHN-IM-2000-4315
Syntype

Synonymy:

Epitonium mariei (Crosse, 1873) · unaccepted [in Kaicher, S.D., 1983].
Epitonium marmoratum (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844) [in Higo, S., Callomon, P. & Goto, Y., 1999].
Scalaria mariei Crosse, 1873 [in Tryon, G.W., 1887].
Scalaria mariei Crosse, 1873 · [in MNHN, 2025].
Scalaria mariei Crosse, 1873: [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].
Scalaria marmorata G. B. Sowerby II, 1844 [in Clessin, S., 1897].
Scalaria marmorata G. B. Sowerby II, 1844 [in Tryon, G.W., 1887].
Scalaria marmorata G. B. Sowerby II, 1844) [in Sowerby, G. B. II., 1844].
Scalaria marmorata G.B. Sowerby II, 1844: ~ Scalaria mariei Crosse, 1873. [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]
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]
Garcia, E.F. (2003). New records of Indo-Pacific Epitoniidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) with the description of nineteen new specie. Novapex. 4 (Hors-série 1). http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42322472 [Accessed 26 August 2023]
Higo, S., Callomon, P. & Goto, Y. (1999). Catalogue and Bibliography of the Marine Shell-Bearing Mollusca of Japan.. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266375656_Catalogue_and_Bibliography_of_the_Marine_Shell-Bearing_Mollusca_of_Japan [Accessed 25 July 2025]
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]
Kaicher, S.D. (1983). Epitoniidae III [Pack 35]. S. D. Kaicher, St. Petersburg, Florida. http://www.femorale.com/kaicher/species.asp?f=Epitoniidae&c=125 [Accessed 8 May 2023]
MNHN (2025). Syntype for Scalaria mariei Crosse, 1873. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle [MNHN}. http://coldb.mnhn.r/catalognumber/mnhn/im/2000-4315 [Accessed 28 March 2025]
Nakayama, T. (2003). A Review of Northwest Pacific Epitoniids. Monographs of Marine Mollusca. 6. Backhuys Publishers
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. (1873-1874). 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
Wilson, B.R. (1993). Australian Marine Shells. Australian Marine Shells. 1. Odessey Publications
WoRMS Editorial Board (2025). World Register of Marine Species. https://www.marinespecies.org [Accessed 8 November 2025]

WoRMS direct page link: Open WoRMS record