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Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Plastiscala invalida

(Verco, 1906)

Description:

Dimensions range from 10.4 mm - 11 mm high and 3 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.29:1 ~ 0.27:1

Shell: elongate; rather thin; small. About 11 whorls, round with slight peripheral angulation, connected; protoconch with ~2 whorls nearly smooth; teleoconch with 8-9 whorls regularly convex. Suture deep, simple, containing tubercles on the upper border of each whorl. Imperforate. Approximately 24 costae on the body whorl. Costae are very crowded, fine, varying in thickness. There are 3 varices on each whorl. The varices are at irregular intervals, curving towards the suture. Intercostal spaces fine, crowded spiral lirae. Aperture ovate, flattened at the base, lip thickened externally.


Distribution:

St Vincent Gulf, Sth Australia [Verco, 1906:148]; Western Port, Victoria [Macpherson & Gabriel, 1962:115]; Tasmania [Weil et al., 1999:140].


Habitat:

Deep water [Cotton & Godfrey, 1931:7].


Etymology:

.


SpeciesImage

Verco, J.C. (1906). Fig. 9 & 10.

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Type Material:

Both Brown & Neville [2015:88] and Kaicher [1980:EP2-3124] all reported the holotype as D.13458, held by the South Australian Museum. However, this catalogue number has not been able to be located in the South Australian Museum's online collections database [South Australian Museum, 2026].

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.
Plastiscala invalida (Verco, 1906)HolotypeSAMA D13458. [Kaicher, 1980: EP2-3124].SM D.13458. St. Vincent Gulf, deep water, [Brown & Neville, 2015: 88].


Verco, J.C. (1906).
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Fig. 9 & 10.
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pp: 148.
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pp: 149.
Cotton, B.C. & Godfrey, F.K. (1931).
Shown in text as Cirsotrema invalida (Verco, 1906)
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pp: 7.
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Plate I. Fig. 7.
Macpherson, J.H. & Gabriel, C.J. (1962).
Shown in text as Scala invalida Verco, 1906
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pp: 115.

Synonymy:

Cirsotrema invalida (Verco, 1906) [Cotton & Godfrey, 1931: 7]
Scala invalida Verco, 1906 [Verco, 1906: 148; Macpherson & Gabriel, 1962: 115]


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. (1931). South Australian Shells Part II. The South Australian Naturalist. 13(1). Field Naturalists Society of South Australia. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42129287 [Accessed 8 June 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]
Macpherson, J.H. & Gabriel, C.J. (1962). Marine Molluscs of Victoria. Melbourne University Press and National Museum of Victoria: Melbourne.. https://archive.org/details/marinemolluscsof0000jhop/page/118/mode/2up [Accessed 13 June 2025]
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]
Verco, J.C. (1906). Notes on South Australian marine Mollusca, with descriptions of new species. Part IV.. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of South Australia. 30 Pt 4. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16124267 [Accessed 19 June 2023]
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