Header Image
Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Epitonium pyramidale

(G. B. Sowerby II, 1844)

Description:

Dimensions range from 20 mm - 50 mm high and 9.6 mm - 10.83 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.48:1 ~ 0.22:1

Shell: slender conical, pyramidal; light, but solid; small to medium. Exterior colour white. About 10 whorls, convex, separated; teleoconch with 9-10 whorls strongly convex. Suture deep and fenestrated. Umbilicate, Imperforate: very small, almost closed. Approximately 8 - 12 costae on the body whorl. Costae are somewhat laminated, extant, strong, sharp, slightly crenulated. Costae hoooked at the shoulder; reflected at the edge; not always connected from whorl to whorl. Intercostal spaces smooth, glossy. Aperture ovate to rather rounded; peristome complete.

Resembles a large E perplexum but lacks the characteristic basal rib of that species, This species is very close to E. philippinarum , but E. pyramidale is not as slender in shape, and the costae are hooked at the shoulder.


Distribution:

Pacific coast Japan, Philippines to Australia, South Korea, China, Fiji


Habitat:

intertidal on sand, associated with Actinodendron plumosum


Etymology:

[latin] pyramis = pyramid in reference to the shape of the shell


Type Material:

NHMUK 198144 (lectotype) designated by Kokshoorn et al. (2007: 39, fig. 11). [as Scalaria pyramidalis G.B. Sowerby, II, 1844:] - Locality: Caminguing Island, Philippines.. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]
Type not indicated in text for Epitonium pyramidale (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844) - Locality: 'Ins. Caminguing, Philippinarum' (Caminguin island, northern Mindanao, Philippines); 'Taken in sandy mud at thirty fathoms'.. [Higo, S., Callomon, P. & Goto, Y., 1999]


SpeciesImage

Murrell (2025).

26.3 x 10.8
Mactan Island, Philippines

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Sowerby, G. B. II. (1844).
Species Image
Plate xxxii. Fig. 4.
Species Image
pp: 85.
Sowerby, G. B. II. (1873-1874).
Species Image
Plate iii. Fig. 17.
Species Image
Tryon, G.W. (1887).
Shown in text as Scalaria pyramidalis G.B. Sowerby, II, 1844:
Species Image
Plate 13. Fig. 89.
Species Image
pp: 62.
Clessin, S. (1897).
Shown in text as Scalaria pyramidalis G.B. Sowerby, II, 1844
Species Image
Plate 6. Fig. 7.
Species Image
pp: 24.
Shell white, pyramidal, somewhat swollen; whorls distinct; varices somewhat lamellar, projecting, extended into a sharp angle near the suture; aperture somewhat rounded, the outer lip in front reflexed, wedge-shaped.
Kaicher, S.D. (1980).
Species Image
Card #: EP2-3042.
Wilson, B.R. (1993).
Species Image
pp: 379. Fig. 12.
Nakayama, T. (2003).
Species Image
pp: 127. Plate 12. Fig. 7-8.
height 23.0 mm; breadth 9.6 mm
Kokshoorn, B., Gittenberger, J. & Gittenberger, A (2007).
Species Image
pp: 39. Fig. 11-12.
Lectotype: BMNH198144

H=31.1 mm;12
E.side ofSamalona island( RMNH87750),H=26.4mm.
Murrell (2025).
Species Image
26.3 x 10.8
Mactan Island, Philippines
Species Image
Species Image

Synonymy:

Scalaria pyramidalis G.B. Sowerby, II, 1844 [in Clessin, S., 1897].
Scalaria pyramidalis G.B. Sowerby, II, 1844: [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].
Scalaria pyramidalis G.B. Sowerby, II, 1844: [in Tryon, G.W., 1887].


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]
Clessin, S. (1897). Die Familie der Scalariidae. In W. Kobelt (Ed.), Systematisches Conchylien-Cabinet von Martini und Chemnitz. Neu herausgegeben und vervollständigt. 2(13). Bauer & Raspe, NürnbergBauer & Raspe, Nürnberg. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34259905 [Accessed 21 June 2025]
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]
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]
Kokshoorn, B., Gittenberger, J. & Gittenberger, A (2007). Epitoniid parasites (Gastropoda, Caenogastropoda, Epitoniidae) and their host sea anemones (Cnidaria,Actiniaria,Ceriantharia) in the Spermonde archipelago, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Basteria. 71(1-3)
Murrell (2025). Personal Collection
Nakayama, T. (2003). A Review of Northwest Pacific Epitoniids. Monographs of Marine Mollusca. 6. Backhuys Publishers
South Wales. 26(3). https://biostor.org/reference/53643 [Accessed 5 November 2025]
Sowerby, G. B. II. (1844). Monograph of the genus Scalaria.. Thesaurus conchyliorum, or monographs of genera of shells.. 1 (4). London, privately published.. http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/11076419 [Accessed 22 June 2023]
Sowerby, G. B. II. (1873-1874). Monograph of the genus Scalaria. Conchologia iconica, or illustrations of the shells of molluscous animals, vol. 19, pls 1-16 and unpaginated text.. 19. London. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8217819 [Accessed 24 August 2023]
Tate, R. & May, W.L. (1901). A revised census of the marine Mollusca of Tasmania. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New
Tryon, G.W. (1887). Manual of conchology, structural and systematic with illustrations of the species. IX. Academy of Natural Sciences. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/11026889 [Accessed 20 September 2025]
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