Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Alora retifera

Bouchet & Warén, 1986

Description:

Dimensions range from 3.8 mm - 4 mm high and 3.2 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.84:1 ~ 0.8:1

Shell: globose, turbinate; thin, fragile; minute. Exterior colour white, protoconch brown. About 6.25 whorls; protoconch with ~3 whorls somewhat straight, with fine, incremental axial lines; teleoconch with ~3.25 whorls very convex, rapidly increasing. Umbilicate: narrow but distinct. Costae are thin, cord like resembling the spiral cords, unequally distributed. Intercostal spaces sculpture consists of raised spiral cords and axial ribs, forming rectangular intervals. Interstices with approximately 14 spiral striae per whorl. Base strong basal cord. Aperture large,somewhat squarish; outer lip thin, rather angular at the level of the basal cord.

Distribution:

Azores, known only from the material [Bouchet & Warén, 1986:542]

Habitat:

1250m-1846m [Bouchet & Warén, 1986:542]

Etymology:

[latin] from rete = net and ferre,= to bear or carry, in reference to the net like sculpture of the shell

Type Material:

Holotype in IRSN for Alora retifera Bouchet & Warén, 1986 - Type Locality: MONACO st 1349, 38° 36N, 28° 06W, 1250m (Azores).. [Bouchet, P. & Warén, A., 1986]
Holotype: IRSN for Alora retifera Bouchet & Warén, 1986 - Type Locality: MONACO station 1349, 38° 36'N, 28° 06'W, Azores, 1250 m.. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]

SpeciesImage

Bouchet, P. & Warén, A. (1986). pp: 543. Fig. 1252.

1252, A. retifera, holotype, 3.8mm

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Bouchet, P. & Warén, A. (1986).

Species Image

pp: 543. Fig. 1252.

1252, A. retifera, holotype, 3.8mm

Source Literature:

Bouchet, P. & Warén, A. (1986). Revision of the Northeast Atlantic bathyal and abyssal Aclididae Eulimidae, Epitonidae (Mollusca, Gastropoda).. Bollettino Malacologico.. suppl. 2. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/140762 [Accessed 21 September 2023]
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]
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