Header Image
Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Amaea ogaitoi

Masahito & T. Habe, 1975

Description:

Dimensions range from 6.5 mm - 12.72 mm high and 2 mm - 4.19 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.31:1 ~ 0.33:1

Shell: turreted with highly elevated spire; light, thin; minute to small. Exterior colour pure white. About 11.5 whorls, body whorl rather small but well rounded; protoconch with ~2.5 whorls smooth and snowy white; teleoconch with ~9 whorls convex, inflated. Spire highly elevated. Suture well constricted. Imperforate: umbilicus closed. Approximately 39 costae on the body whorl. Costae are small, densely packed. There is a single varix on each whorl. The varix is irregularly placed strong varices. Intercostal spaces Intercostal surface with very weak, densely set spiral threads forming minute reticulations. Base disc absent. Aperture rounded, lip thick, callous.


Distribution:

Japan [Nakayama, 2003:12]; Singapore [Huang & Lee, 2016: 14];Taiwan [Huang & Lee, 2016:14]; Korean Peninsular [NIBR, 2019:327]; Yeppoon Queensland [Murrell, personal collection]; Maldives [Weil et al., 1999:114].


Habitat:

6m [Masahito & Habe, 1975: 193] to 30m [Nakayama, 2003: 12] on muddy sand substrate.


Etymology:

As stated by the authors [Masahito & Habe, 1975: 193], this species is named for the collector, Mr. Hiroshi Ogaito.


SpeciesImage

Murrell, T. (2025).

Yeppoon, Queensland.
12.72mm.

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.
Amaea ogaitoi Masahito & T. Habe, 1975HolotypeNSMT-Mo 49719. [Higo et al., 2001: G1836].NSMT-Mo 49719. 600-800 m off Ushijima near Sakaide City, Shikoku, Japan. [Masahito & Habe, 1975: 193].NSMT-Mo 49719. Ushijima, Sakaide, Kagawa prefecture, northern Shikoku (Seto inland sea KIMURA, 1996-a), Japan. [Higo et al., 1999: G1836].NSMT-Mo 49723. 600-800 m off Ushijima near Sakaide City, Shikoku, Japan. [Masahito & Habe, 1975: 193].NSMT-Mo 49723. Off Ushijima, Marugame, the Inland Sea (Setonaikai), Japan. [Nakayama, 2003: 12].
Scala tenuicancellata de Boury, mss.HolotypeNSMT Mo- 49719. 600-800 m off Ushijima near Sakaide City, Shikoku, Japan. 6-7m. [Brown & Neville, 2015: 1115].


Masahito, Prince & Habe, T. (1975).
Species Image
pp: 192. Plate 1. Fig. 2.
2. Amaea
ogaitoi sp. nov. (holotype specimen),
Species Image
pp: 193.
Murrell, T. (2025).
Species Image
Yeppoon, Queensland.
12.72mm.

Synonymy:

Scala tenuicancellata 'de Boury mss', Weil, L. Brown, and Neville, 1999 [Brown & Neville, 2015: 147]
Scala tenuicancellata de Boury, mss. [Brown & Neville, 2015: 1115]


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]
Higo, S., Callomon, P. & Goto, Y. (1999). Catalogue and Bibliography of the Marine Shell-Bearing Mollusca of Japan.. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266375656_Catalogue_and_Bibliography_of_the_Marine_Shell-Bearing_Mollusca_of_Japan [Accessed 25 July 2025]
Higo, S., Callomon, P. & Goto, Y. (2001). Catalogue and Bibliography of the Marine Shell-Bearing Molluscs of Japan. Type Figures. Elle Scientific Publications
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]
Masahito, Prince & Habe, T. (1975). Systematic study of Japanese Epitoniidae (II). Bulletin of the National Science Museum Series A (Zoology) . 1(4). National Science Museum. https://www.kahaku.go.jp/english/research/publication/zoology/v01_4.html [Accessed 4 March 2025]
Murrell, T. (2025). Personal Collection
Nakayama, T. (2003). A Review of Northwest Pacific Epitoniids. Monographs of Marine Mollusca. 6. Backhuys Publishers
NIBR National Institute of Biological Resources, (2019). National Species List of Korea II. Vertebrates · Invertebrates · Protozoa. National Institute of Biological Resources.
Tan, S. K. & Woo, H. P. M. (2010). A preliminary checklist of the molluscs of Singapore. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research & Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore.
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