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Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Boreoscala blainei

(Clench & Turner, 1953)

Description:

Dimensions range from 15 mm - 30 mm high and 10 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.67:1 ~ 0.33:1

Shell: attenuate; small to moderately small. Exterior colour white. Whorls strongly convex; strongly sculptured. Spire with angle of 24 degrees. Suture deeply impressed. Imperforate. Approximately 13 costae on the body whorl. Costae are well rounded, convex on the forward side, slightly concave on the inner side with small rounded knobs corresponding to the intercostal sculpture. Intercostal spaces well developed ridges on the last whorl. Interstices with approximately 7 spiral striae per whorl. Base with very fine ridges below the basal ridge. Columella short and arched. Aperture circular; outer lip thickened. Operculum unknown.

Boreoscala blainei is virtually identical to C. zelebori (Dunker, 1866) from the western Pacific [Brown & Neville, 2015]


Distribution:

Western Florida and south to Miami [Clench & Turner, 1951:362]; east Florida and entire Gulf of Mexico [Rosenberg et al., 2009:641]


Habitat:

intertidal [Clench & Turner, 1953:362] to 293 m in soft substrates [Rosenberg et al., 2009:641]


Etymology:

No etymology is provided in the original source documents; however, based on the Latin genitive suffix "-i", the name most likely honours a man with the surname Blaine


Type Material:

Holotype: Museum of Comparative Zoology, no. 189246 from southwest of the lighthouse, Boca Grande, Florida [about 45 miles] in 22 fathoms. Collected by Soson Vatikiotis in 1987. Paratype, from Bear Cut, Crandon Park, Miami, Florida. Collected by Arthur Merrill in 1951. for Boreoscala blainei (Clench & Turner, 1953). [Clench, W. J. & Turner, R. D., 1953]
Holotype: MCZ 189246 for Boreoscala blainei (Clench & Turner, 1953) - Locality: off Boca Grande, Florida, USA, 22 fms [= 40 m].. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]


SpeciesImage

Clench, W. J. & Turner, R. D. (1953). pp: 361. Plate 180. Fig. 1-2.

Epitonium (Boreoscala) blainei Clench and Turner
Fig. 1. About 45 miles off Boca Grande, Florida. Holotype (3.2x).
Fig. 2. Bear Cut, Crandon Park, Miami, Florida. Paratype (3.2x).

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Clench, W. J. & Turner, R. D. (1953).
Species Image
pp: 361. Plate 180. Fig. 1-2.
Epitonium (Boreoscala) blainei Clench and Turner
Fig. 1. About 45 miles off Boca Grande, Florida. Holotype (3.2x).
Fig. 2. Bear Cut, Crandon Park, Miami, Florida. Paratype (3.2x).
Species Image
pp: 362.
Species Image
pp: 363.

Synonymy:

Epitonium blainei Clench & Turner, 1953 [in Rosenberg, G., Moretzsohn, F. & García, E., 2009].


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]
Clench, W. J. & Turner, R. D. (1953). The Genera EPITONIUM, OPALIA and CYLINDRISCALA in the Western Atlantic. Jonsonia. 2(32). THE department of Mollusks, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
Rosenberg, G., Moretzsohn, F. & García, E. (2009). Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico. Gulf of Mexico: Its Origins, Waters, and Biota.Vol 1: Biodiversity. D. L. Felder & D. K. Camp, eds,. Texas A & M University Press
WoRMS Editorial Board (2025). World Register of Marine Species. https://www.marinespecies.org [Accessed 8 November 2025]

WoRMS direct page link: Open WoRMS record