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Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Boreoscala ponderosa

Garcia, 2003

Description:

Dimensions range from 48.5 mm - 51.5 mm high and 19 mm - 19.6 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.39:1 ~ 0.38:1

Shell: acuminate; strong; medium. Exterior colour white. Whorls slightly convex; protoconch missing in holotype; teleoconch with 10 whorls. Approximately 16 costae on the body whorl. Costae are heavy, moderately erect, smooth with some costae thickening to become varicies, increasing on later whorls to be after every fourth costa. Costae peaked, creating an suggestion of shoulders on whorls; reflected. Intercostal spaces with spiral cords. Interstices with approximately 8 spiral striae per whorl. Base with well-defined basal cord. Columella narrow, becoming thicker at the anterior. Aperture slightly ovate; outer lip thickened by a varix. Operculum unknown.


Distribution:

Loyalty Ridge, New Caledonia


Habitat:

538-540 m [Garcia, 2003]


Etymology:

Latin, ponderosus (adj., meaning weighty), with reference to the heavy shell., Latin, ponderosus = weighty, a reference to the heavy shell.


Type Material:

Holotype MNHN length 51.1 mm, width 19.6 mm; paratype MNHN length 48.5 mm, width 19.0 mm. [as Epitonium ponderosum (E. F. García, 2003)] - Type Locality: Loyalty Islands, Lifou, Baie du Santal, 20°37'S, 166° 58' E, 538 m, [CALSUB 1989, pl. 15]. [Garcia, E.F., 2003]
Holotype: MNHN 4380 [as Boreoscala ponderosa García, 2003] - Type Locality: CALSUB 1989, pl. 15, Loyalty Islands, Lifou, Baie du Santal, 20o 37'S, 166o 58'E, 538 m.. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]


SpeciesImage

Garcia, E.F. (2003). pp: 9. Fig. 23-24.

Boreoscala ponderosa n. sp
New Caledonia. west Lifou, south Baie Santal,
20"37'S, 166° 51' E, in 538 m [CALSUB 1989].
Holotype (MNHN) length 51.1 mm, width 1 9.6 mm.

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Garcia, E.F. (2003).
Shown in text as Epitonium ponderosum (E. F. García, 2003)
Species Image
pp: 9. Fig. 23-24.
Boreoscala ponderosa n. sp
New Caledonia. west Lifou, south Baie Santal,
20"37'S, 166° 51' E, in 538 m [CALSUB 1989].
Holotype (MNHN) length 51.1 mm, width 1 9.6 mm.

Synonymy:

Boreoscala ponderosa García, 2003 [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].
Epitonium ponderosum (E. F. García, 2003) [in Garcia, E.F., 2003].


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]
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]
WoRMS Editorial Board (2025). World Register of Marine Species. https://www.marinespecies.org [Accessed 8 November 2025]

WoRMS direct page link: Open WoRMS record