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Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Epidendrium aureum

A. Gittenberger & E. Gittenberger, 2005

Description:

Dimensions range from 6.5 mm - 22.5 mm high and 6 mm - 10.7 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.92:1 ~ 0.48:1

Shell: varying from broad to relatively slender conical; fragile; minute to moderately small. Exterior colour apex dark, purplish red pigment, which continues on the teleoconch as a s band below the periphery, fading on later whorls to yellowing white. About 12.75 whorls, convex; protoconch with 3-4 whorls smooth apex, regularly spaced, very fine, incised, axial lines; teleoconch with 4-8.75 whorls. Suture moderately deep. Umbilicate: moderately wide. Approximately 16 - 164 costae on the body whorl. Costae are orthocline, regularly placed, lamellar, not or slightly curved, low. Costae discontinuous, not or hardly touching the adjoining whorls. Intercostal spaces up to 35 regularly placed, relatively thick, spiral threads. Interstices with approximately 16 - 30 spiral striae per whorl. Aperture subcircular. Operculum paucispiral.

Nakayama, T. & Kazunori, H. [2016:20] discuss that Epidendrium billeeanum was originally described from the Gulf of California on the west coast of North America with a distribution from the Gulf of California to the Galapagos Islands [Gittenberger & Gittenberger, 2005: 150], with specimens recorded under this name from the northwestern Pacific [Nakayama, 2003: pl. 7, figs 24-25] belonging to a different species, which was later described as E. aureum by Gittenberger & Gittenberger [2005:150].


Distribution:

Red Sea, Seychelles, Maldives, Thailand, Japan, Philippines, Palau and Indonesia to West and East Australia.; Indo-west Pacific; Kii Peninsula to Okinawa, Japan, Taiwan [Nakayama & Kazunori, 2016:20]; Philippines, south to Queensland, Australia [Nakayama, 2003:10]; Andaman Sea, Thailand [Wells et al., 2021:127]; Gulf of Mannar, India [Kumar et al., 2026:3]; Maldives, Red Sea [Gittenberger & Gittenberger, 2005:150].


Habitat:

Intertidal [Nakayama & Kazunori, 2016:20], recorded to 28m [Gittenberger & Gittenberger, 2005:150]; parasitic on the coral Tubastrea faulkneri Wells [Nakayama, 2003:10].


Etymology:

[latin] from areus = of the colour of gold, gold-coloured, in reference to the bright yellow colour of the species in situ.


SpeciesImage

Gittenberger, A. & Gittenberger, E. (2005). pp: 154. Fig. 51.

Figs 51 Epidendrium aureum Gittenberger & Gittenberger, 2005
Holotype
Palau

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.
Epidendrium aureum A. & E. Gittenberger, 2005HolotypeRMNH 95287. W Ulong, W of barrier reef, Tsey's tunnel, Palau. Lat: 07° 18 40N, Lon: 134° 13 30E. [Brown & Neville, 2015: 41].


Nakayama, T. (2003).
Shown in text as Epidendrium billeeanum (DuShane & Bratcher, 1965)
Species Image
pp: 117. Plate 7. Fig. 24.
figs 24-25: Alora bilecanae (DuShane &Bratcher, 1965) height 11.0 mm; breadth 6.0 mm (WMNH-Mo-Na500)
Gittenberger, A. & Gittenberger, E. (2005).
Species Image
pp: 154. Fig. 51.
Figs 51 Epidendrium aureum Gittenberger & Gittenberger, 2005
Holotype
Palau
Species Image
pp: 154. Fig. 52.
52, Epidendrium aureum Gittenberger & Gittenberger, 2005
paratype,
Nakayama, T. & Kazunori, H. (2016).
Species Image
pp: 20. Fig. 1a-b.
1. Epidendrium aureum A. & E. Gittenberger, 2005;
Iejima, Okinawa, Japan, intertidal reef, Nakayama collection
Species Image
pp: 20. Fig. 2.
2. Epidendrium aureum A. & E. Gittenberger, 2005
off Chichijima Island, Ogasawara Islands, NSMT-Mo 78922.

Synonymy:

Epidendrium aureum A. & E. Gittenberger, 2005 [Brown & Neville, 2015: 41]
Epidendrium billeeanum (DuShane & Bratcher, 1965) [Nakayama, 2003: 10]


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]
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]
Huang, C. W. & Lee, Y.C. (2016). Checklist of the family Epitoniidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) in Taiwan with description of a new species and some new records. Biodiversity Data Journal. 4. doi: 10.3897/ BDJ.4.e5653 [Accessed 25 August 2023]
Kumar, R. R., Ardovini, R., Venkatraman, C., Pakchirajan, P., & Rajappa, B. (2026). First Indian records and range expansion of three epitoniid gastropods in the Gulf of Mannar, India. Indo Pacific Journal of Ocean Life. 10(1). https://doi.org/10.13057/oceanlife/o100101 [Accessed 20 June 2026]
Nakayama, T. (2003). A Review of Northwest Pacific Epitoniids. Monographs of Marine Mollusca. 6. Backhuys Publishers
Nakayama, T. & Kazunori, H. (2016). Description of a New Species of the Genus Epidendrium from Japan, with Taxonomical Comments on the Taxa Previously Assigned to the Genus Alora in the Northwestern Pacific (Gastropoda: Epitoniidae). Venus. 71(1-2). Malacological Society of Japan. DOI: http://doi.org/10.18941/venus.74.1-2_19 [Accessed 14 September 2023]
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