Epifungium ulu

(Pilsbry, 1921)

Description:

Dimensions range from 2 mm - 145.8 mm high and 1 mm - 6 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.5:1 ~ 0.04:1

Shell: elongate conical; fragile, thin walled, easily shattered; microscopic to large. Exterior colour white, creamy white. About 17.75 whorls; protoconch with 3.24-5 whorls glassy; teleoconch with 8-12.75 whorls convex, rapidly enlarging. Suture deep, moderately deep. Umbilicate: very narrow or closed. Approximately 15 - 39 costae on the body whorl. Costae are delicate, unevenly spaced, threadlike. Costae not continuous. Intercostal spaces spiral threads which vary in strength on each whorl. Interstices with approximately 9 - 25 spiral striae per whorl. Aperture subcircular, rather trapezoidal, lip slightly reflected below; outer lip narrowly reflected. Operculum paucispiral.

E. ulu differs from E. hoeksemai by a length/width ratio of ca. 2.6 instead of ca. 1.9 and by the presence of fewer than 20 spiral threads on the fifth teleoconch whorl. It is the most common epitoniid species associated with Fungiidae.

Distribution:

Hawaii, [Kay, 1979: 156]; New Guinea, northern Red Sea, and the Maldive Islands [DuShane, 1990:5]; Seychelles, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, and Palau [A. & E. Gittenberger, 2005:197]; North Queensland, Australia [Loch, 1988:3].

Habitat:

Intertidal to 35 m. Coral hosts include Fungia spinifer Claereboudt & Hoeksema, 1987, F. scabra Döderlein, 1901, F. concinna, F. horrida Dana, 1846, F. scruposa Klunzinger, 1879, F. fungites, F. granulosa Klunzinger, 1879, F. scutaria Lamarck, 1801, F. moluccensis Van der Horst, 1919, F. gravis Nemenzo, 1955, and F. paumotensis Stutchbury, 1833 [Gittenberger et al., 2000]. In Hawaii it is associated with the solitary coral Fungia scutaria Lamarck, 1801 [DuShane, 1990:5]. Loch [1982:3] also reported it under Fungia actiniformis Quoy & Gaimard, 1833, at depths of 1.5-45 m. Taylor [1975: 177] found 'Aiptasia suffices as the food of this species during juvenilehood' in the laboratory.

Etymology:

not given.

Pilsbry, H. A. (1920). pp: 376. Fig. 11c.

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Type Material:

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.

Epifungium ulu (Pilsbry, 1921)HolotypeANSP 127818. Hawaii, Hilo, USA. [Gittenberger et al., 2000: 103].ANSP 127818. Hawaii, USA. [Gittenberger & Gittenberger, 2005: 193].ANSP 127818. Hilo, Hawaii, USA. [Brown & Neville, 2015: 155].
Epitonium ulu Pilsbry, 1921HolotypeANSP 127818. Hilo, Hawaii, USA. Collected by: D. Thaanum. [DuShane, 1988h: 9].Type[Pilsbry, 1920: 376].

Pilsbry, H. A. (1920).

pp: 376. Fig. 11c.

pp: 376.

original description

DuShane, H. (1988a).

pp: 31. Fig. 3.

Figure
3. Epitonium ulu Pilsbry; 1921. Length 13.5 mm, width 5.5 mm, Bratcher Collection. Saudi Arabia, Red Sea.

Gittenberger, A., Goud & Gittenberger, E. (2000).

pp: 96. Fig. 11-12.

11-12. E. ulu Pilsbry, 1921, length 1.6 cm and 1.0 cm, respectively;

Gittenberger, A. & Gittenberger, E. (2005).

pp: 160. Fig. 71-72.

71, broad specimen, Thailand;
72, slender specimen, Palau;

Synonymy:

Epitonium ulu Pilsbry, 1921 [DuShane, 1988h: 9; DuShane, 1988a: 32; Pilsbry, 1920: 376; DuShane, 1990; Weil et al., 1999: 94]

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]
DuShane, H. (1988a). Geographical Distribution of Some Epitoniidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) Associated with Fungiid Corals. The Nautilus. 102(1). https://ia600905.us.archive.org/9/items/nautilus102amer/nautilus102amer.pdf [Accessed 17 September 2023]
DuShane, H. (1988h). Hawaiian Epitoniidae pt.5. Hawaiian Shell News. 36(11). https://www.conchology.be/?t=5002&year=1988&volume=11&hsn=10345 [Accessed 16 September 2023]
DuShane, H. (1990). Hawaiian Epitoniidae. Hawaiian Shell News. 38(Sup.1). Hawaiian Malacological Society
Gittenberger, A. & Gittenberger, E. (2005). A hitherto unnoticed adaptive radiation: epitoniid species (Gastropoda: Epitoniidae) associated with corals (Scleractinia).. Contributions to Zoology. 74(1-2). Contributions to Zoology. http://www.repository.naturalis.nl/document/43091 [Accessed 16 July 2023]
Gittenberger, A. & Hoeksema, B (2013). Habitat preferences of coral-associated wentletrap snails (Gastropoda: Epitoniidae). Contributions to Zoology. 82(1)
Gittenberger, A., Goud & Gittenberger, E. (2000). Epitonium (Gastropoda: Epitoniidae) associated with mushroom corals (Scleractinia: Fungiidae) from Sulawesi, Indonesia, with the description of four new species.. The Nautilus. 114(1). The Nautilus. http://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/128726.pdf [Accessed 8 March 2025]
Kay, E. A. (1979). Hawaiian marine shells: Reef and shore fauna of Hawaii section 4. Bernice P. Bishop Museum Special Publication. 64(4). Bishop Museum Press.. https://openlibrary.org/books/OL4750994M/Hawaiian_marine_shells [Accessed 24 July 2026]
Loch, I. (1988). Queensland Epitoniids. Australian Shell News. 39
Pilsbry, H. A. (1920). Marine Mollusks of Hawaii: XIV, XV. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 72. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/partpdf/84996 [Accessed 4 June 2025]
Taylor, J. B. (1975). Planktonic prosobranch veligers of Kaneohe Bay (Doctoral dissertation, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa). ScholarSpace, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. http://hdl.handle.net/10125/12012 [Accessed 25 July 2026]
Weil, A., Brown, L. & Neville, B. (1999). The Wentletrap Book. Evolver
Wells, E., Sanpanich, K., Tan, S. K, & Duangdee, T. (2021). The Marine and Estuarine Molluscs of Thailand. Lee Kong Chian natural History Museum
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

Epifungium ulu

(Pilsbry, 1921)

Description:

Distribution:

Hawaii, [Kay, 1979: 156]; New Guinea, northern Red Sea, and the Maldive Islands [DuShane, 1990:5]; Seychelles, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, and Palau [A. & E. Gittenberger, 2005:197]; North Queensland, Australia [Loch, 1988:3].

Habitat:

Etymology:

not given.

Distribution

Type Material:

Pilsbry, H. A. (1920).

pp: 376. Fig. 11c.

pp: 376.

original description

DuShane, H. (1988a).

pp: 31. Fig. 3.

Figure 3. Epitonium ulu Pilsbry; 1921. Length 13.5 mm, width 5.5 mm, Bratcher Collection. Saudi Arabia, Red Sea.

Gittenberger, A., Goud & Gittenberger, E. (2000).

pp: 96. Fig. 11-12.

11-12. E. ulu Pilsbry, 1921, length 1.6 cm and 1.0 cm, respectively;

Gittenberger, A. & Gittenberger, E. (2005).

pp: 160. Fig. 71-72.

71, broad specimen, Thailand; 72, slender specimen, Palau;

Synonymy:

Epitonium ulu Pilsbry, 1921 [DuShane, 1988h: 9; DuShane, 1988a: 32; Pilsbry, 1920: 376; DuShane, 1990; Weil et al., 1999: 94]

Source Literature:

WoRMS direct page link: Open WoRMS record

Figure
3. Epitonium ulu Pilsbry; 1921. Length 13.5 mm, width 5.5 mm, Bratcher Collection. Saudi Arabia, Red Sea.

71, broad specimen, Thailand;
72, slender specimen, Palau;