Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Epitonium townsendi

(Melvill & Standen, 1903)

Description:

Dimensions range from 4.3 mm - 5 mm high and 2 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.47:1 ~ 0.4:1

Shell: pyramidal, fusiform; delicate; minute. Exterior colour white. About 9 whorls, strongly convex; protoconch conical with ~4 whorls glassy and smooth; teleoconch with ~5 whorls slightly swollen. Suture very narrowly fenestrated. Umbilicate: closed or weakly fenestrate. Approximately 12 - 14 costae on the body whorl. Costae are prosocline, erect, rather straight. Costae hooked and spined just below the sutures; slightly reflexed, mostly on the shoulder. Intercostal spaces low, tabulate with a series of feeble threads above shoulder and on base of body whorl.. Interstices with approximately 12 spiral striae per whorl. Columella slightly reflexed. Fasciole sometimes present. Aperture ovate; peristome moderately thick, very slightly auriculate.

Distribution:

Persian Gulf to Transkei, South Africa [Kilburn, 1985:322]; Taiwan [Huang & Lee, 2016:19]; Gulf of Thailand [Wells et al., 2021:128]

Habitat:

37-90 m [Kilburn, 1985:322], sublittoral muddy and sandy substrates [Robba et al., 2004:89]

Type Material:

Holotype BM(NH) 1903.12.15.5, ex F. W. Townsend colln.; dimensions 4,8 x 2,3 mm. for Epitonium townsendi (Melvill & Standen, 1903). [Kilburn, R.N, 1985]
Syntype: NHMUK 1903.12.15.5 for Epitonium townsendi (Melvill & Standen, 1903) - Type Locality: Chabar, Mekran coast, 20 fms [= 37 m].. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]

SpeciesImage

Melvill, J. C. & Standen, R (1903). Plate VII. Fig. 14.

Scala townsendi sp.n. (Pl. VII., fig. 14).

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Melvill, J. C. & Standen, R (1903).

Species Image

Plate VII. Fig. 14.

Scala townsendi sp.n. (Pl. VII., fig. 14).

Species Image

pp: 347.

Kilburn, R.N (1985).

Species Image

143. Holotype: BM(NH) 1903.12.15.5, 4,8 x 2,3 mm;
144, NM B7156, Durban Bay, 4,5 x 2,1 mm.

Synonymy:

Epitonium (Parviscala) townsendi (Melvill & Standen 1903) [in Huang, C. W. & Lee, Y.C., 2016].

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]
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]
Kilburn, R.N (1985). The family Epitoniidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) in southern Africa and Mozambique. Annals of the Natal Museum. 27(1). Natal Museum
Melvill, J. C. & Standen, R (1903). The genus Scala (Klein) Humphrey, as represented in the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and North Arabian Sea, with descriptions of new species.. Journal of Conchology. 10. Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/31650162 [Accessed 26 February 2025]
Robba, E & Di Geronimo, S & Chaimanee, N & Negri, M & Sanfilippo, R. (2004). Holocene and recent shallow soft-bottom mollusks from the Northern Gulf of Thailand area: Scaphopoda, Gastropoda, addition to Bivalvia.. La Conchiglia, International shell magazine. 35
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 [Accessed 8 November 2025]

WoRMS direct page link: Open WoRMS record