Epitonium apiculatum

(Dall, 1889)

Description:

Dimensions range from 4.5 mm - 7.5 mm high and 2.5 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.56:1 ~ 0.33:1

Shell: elongate-conic; delicate; minute to small. Exterior colour white, polished. About 12 whorls, convex, attached by costae; protoconch with ~3 whorls smooth; teleoconch with ~9 whorls. Umbilicate: anomphalous, partially closed by a parietal thickening. Approximately 10 - 20 costae on the body whorl. Costae are blade-like, strong high. Costae connected to subsequent whorls; hardly reflected. Intercostal spaces with strong spiral threads on first 3 post-nuclear whorls only, becoming obsolete on late rwhorls. Base without basal ridge. Columella short and arched. Aperture circular to subcircular, lip thickened, expanded. Operculum unknown.

Distribution:

North Carolina, Gulf of Mexico, Venezuela [Rosenberg, 2009:641]; Puerto Rico [Kaicher, 1983:EP3-3602]

Habitat:

0-90m [Tunnel et al., 2010], off shore, soft substrates [Rosenberg et al, loc. cit.]

Etymology:

[latin] from apiculatus = ending in a small point or with a short, pointed tip

Type Material:

Holotype: United States National Museum, no. 94890 for Epitonium apiculatum (Dall, 1889) - Locality: from the Albatross, station 2596 (N. Lat. 35°08'; W. Long. 75°10') in 49 fathoms. This station is about 18 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.. [Clench, W. J. & Turner, R. D., 1952]
Holotype: USNM 94890 [as Scala apiculata Dall, 1889:] - Locality: ALBATROSS stations 2596 and 2616, off the coast of North Carolina, in 17-50 fms [= 31-91 m], sand; per Clench & Turner (1952: 291), the holotype was taken at ALBATROSS station 2596, 35° 8'N, 75° 10'W, 18 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, 49 fms [= 90 m].. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]
Type not indicated in text [as Scala apiculata Dall, 1889. Note that Dall also used a similar name when he described a new species from California in 1917, Epitonum apiculatum, which is now known as Epitonium hindsii (Carpenter, 1856)] - Locality: Off the coast of North Carolina, Stations 2596 and 2616 of the U.S. Fish Commission, in 17-50 fms, sand. [Dall, W. H., 1889]

Tunnell, J. W., Andrews, J., Barrera, N. C., & Moretzsohn, F. (2010). pp: 190.

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Dall, W. H. (1889).

Shown in text as Scala apiculata Dall, 1889

pp: 310.

Clench, W. J. & Turner, R. D. (1951).

pp: 291. Plate 132. Fig. 1-2.

Plate 132. Epitonium apiculatum Dall
Fig. 1. From Albatross, station 2596, off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Holotype (19x).
Fig. 2. From Albatross, station 2617, 25 miles southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina (about 20x).

Kaicher, S.D. (1983).

Card #: EP3-3602.

Card #: EP3-3602

Tunnell, J. W., Andrews, J., Barrera, N. C., & Moretzsohn, F. (2010).

pp: 190.

Synonymy:

Scala apiculata Dall, 1889: [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].
Scala apiculata Dall, 1889. Note that Dall also used a similar name when he described a new species from California in 1917, Epitonum apiculatum, which is now known as Epitonium hindsii (Carpenter, 1856) [in Dall, W. H., 1889].

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]
Dall, W. H. (1889). Reports on the results of dredging, under the supervision of Alexander Agassiz, in the Gulf of Mexico (1877-78) and in the Caribbean Sea (1879-80), by the U.S. Coast Survey Steamer "Blake", Lieut.-Commander C.D. Sigsbee, U.S.N., and Commander J.R. Bartlett, U.S.N., commanding. XXIX. Report on the Mollusca. Part 2, Gastropoda and Scaphopoda.. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy at Harvard College. 18. http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/25505 [Accessed 14 August 2025]
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]
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
Tunnell, J. W., Andrews, J., Barrera, N. C., & Moretzsohn, F. (2010). Encyclopedia of Texas seashells. Encyclopedia of Texas seashells. Texas A&M University Press.
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

Epitonium apiculatum

(Dall, 1889)

Description:

Distribution:

North Carolina, Gulf of Mexico, Venezuela [Rosenberg, 2009:641]; Puerto Rico [Kaicher, 1983:EP3-3602]

Habitat:

0-90m [Tunnel et al., 2010], off shore, soft substrates [Rosenberg et al, loc. cit.]

Etymology:

[latin] from apiculatus = ending in a small point or with a short, pointed tip

Type Material:

Distribution

Dall, W. H. (1889).

Shown in text as Scala apiculata Dall, 1889

pp: 310.

Clench, W. J. & Turner, R. D. (1951).

pp: 291. Plate 132. Fig. 1-2.

Plate 132. Epitonium apiculatum Dall Fig. 1. From Albatross, station 2596, off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Holotype (19x). Fig. 2. From Albatross, station 2617, 25 miles southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina (about 20x).

Kaicher, S.D. (1983).

Card #: EP3-3602.

Card #: EP3-3602

Tunnell, J. W., Andrews, J., Barrera, N. C., & Moretzsohn, F. (2010).

pp: 190.

Synonymy:

Scala apiculata Dall, 1889: [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].Scala apiculata Dall, 1889. Note that Dall also used a similar name when he described a new species from California in 1917, Epitonum apiculatum, which is now known as Epitonium hindsii (Carpenter, 1856) [in Dall, W. H., 1889].

Source Literature:

WoRMS direct page link: Open WoRMS record

Plate 132. Epitonium apiculatum Dall
Fig. 1. From Albatross, station 2596, off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Holotype (19x).
Fig. 2. From Albatross, station 2617, 25 miles southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina (about 20x).

Scala apiculata Dall, 1889: [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].
Scala apiculata Dall, 1889. Note that Dall also used a similar name when he described a new species from California in 1917, Epitonum apiculatum, which is now known as Epitonium hindsii (Carpenter, 1856) [in Dall, W. H., 1889].