Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Epitonium godfreyi

Cotton, 1938

Description:

Dimensions range from 18.9 mm - 25 mm high and 8 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.42:1 ~ 0.32:1

Shell: slender, elongate; small to moderately small. Exterior colour white, glossy. About 10 whorls. Suture very deep. Umbilicate: closed or a slight rimation. Approximately 8 costae on the body whorl. Costae are thin, well spaced, continue over the base. Costae not peaked; rolled back; continuous across the whorls. Intercostal spaces finely irregularly, spirally striate. Base with narrow rib. Aperture oval; outer lip complete, broad; inner lip complete.

Kaicher [1981:EP2-3085] notes this species is rather similar to E. tacitum (Iredale, 1936) but with thinner, more elevated costae, Weil et al. [1999:132] comment that this species is similar to E minorum (Iredale, 1936), but can be distinguished by E godfreyi having reflected costae

Distribution:

South Australia west to Freemantle, Australia [Wilson 1993: 277)

Habitat:

intertidal

Etymology:

Presumably named for Godfrey, F.K who published works on Australian molluscs with B.C. Cotton in the 1930s

Type Material:

Holotype: SM D.13305 for Epitonium godfreyi Cotton, 1938 - Type Locality: Reevesby Island, South Australia. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]

SpeciesImage

Cotton, B. C. (1939). Plate VII. Fig. 3.

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Cotton, B. C. (1939).

Species Image

Plate VII. Fig. 3.

Species Image

pp: 172.

Kaicher, S.D. (1981).

Species Image

Card #: EP2-3085.

South Australian Museum D13305 - holotype

Wilson, B.R. (1993).

Species Image

pp: 379. Plate 44. Fig. 16.

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]
Cotton, B. C. (1939). Reports of the Expedition of the McCoy Society for Field Investigation and Research. Mollusca. Part 2: General.. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria. 51(1). https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/55064465 [Accessed 7 July 2025]
Kaicher, S.D. (1981). Epitoniidae II [Pack 30]. S. D. Kaicher, St. Petersburg, Florida. http://www.femorale.com/kaicher/species.asp?f=Epitoniidae&c=125 [Accessed 8 May 2023]
Weil, A., Brown, L. & Neville, B. (1999). The Wentletrap Book. Evolver
Wilson, B.R. (1993). Australian Marine Shells. Australian Marine Shells. 1. Odessey Publications
WoRMS Editorial Board (2025). World Register of Marine Species. https://www.marinespecies.org [Accessed 8 November 2025]

WoRMS direct page link: Open WoRMS record