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Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Epitonium minutia

(Jousseaume, 1912)

Description:

Dimensions range from 1.2 mm - 1.2 mm high and .7 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.58:1 ~ 0.58:1

Shell: ventricosely conical shell; fairly solid; microscopic. Exterior colour white, slightly glossy. About 5 whorls. Spire Apex obtuse. Suture broad and deep. Umbilicate: narrow. Approximately 20 costae on the body whorl. Intercostal spaces spaces between the varices are about equal in width. Columella slightly deflected outward partially covering the umbilicus. Aperture rounded; peristome thick, thinner at the base of the penultimate whorl.


Distribution:

Aden [Jousseaume, 1912: 27].


Habitat:

intertidal [Brown & Neville, 2015: 105].


Etymology:

[latin] from minutus = small, insignificant.


SpeciesImage

Jousseaume, F. (1912). Plate VII. Fig. 45.

Minutiscala miuutia s[>. n.
IM. Vil, fig. 45.

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.
Minutiscala minutia Jousseaume, 1912HolotypeMNHN. Aden, Yemen. intertidal. [Brown & Neville, 2015: 105].MNHN-IM-2000-4323. Aden, Yemen. [Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, 2026: MNHN-IM-2000-4323].


Jousseaume, F. (1912).
Species Image
Plate VII. Fig. 45.
Minutiscala miuutia s[>. n.
IM. Vil, fig. 45.
Species Image
pp: 227.
Minutiscala miuutia s[>. n.
IM. Vil, fig. 45.
Species Image
pp: 228.
Minutiscala miuutia s[>. n.
IM. Vil, fig. 45.

Synonymy:

Minutiscala minutia Jousseaume, 1912 [Brown & Neville, 2015: 105; Jousseaume, 1912: 27; Weil et al., 1999: 185; Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, 2026: MNHN-IM-2000-4323]


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]
Jousseaume, F. (1912). Faune malacologique de la Mer Rouge. Scalidae. Mémoires de la Société Zoologique de France.. 24(3-4). Mémoires de la Société Zoologique de France.. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/10095979 [Accessed 1 March 2025]
Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (2026). Mollusca (IM) collection. Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle. https://science.mnhn.fr/institution/mnhn/collection/im/item/search [Accessed 18 July 2026]
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