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Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Amaea arabica

(Nyst, 1871)

Description:

Dimensions range from 36 mm - 80 mm high and 8.2 mm - 10.9 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.23:1 ~ 0.14:1

Shell: tall, slender; moderately small to medium. Exterior colour white to yellowish white. About 19 whorls; teleoconch with 18-19 whorls. Suture wide, deep. Imperforate: umbilicus closed. Approximately 28 - 30 costae on the body whorl. Costae are sharp fine, numerous. Costae not peaked; not reflected; do not cross the suture. Intercostal spaces Fine spiral ridges of almost equal size as the costae forming a cancellate pattern, intercostal spaces relatively wide and rectangular. Interstices with approximately 5 spiral striae per whorl. Base flat with a basal ridge. Aperture ovate, lip thin, simple.


Distribution:

Tropical West Indo-Pacific; Okinawa, Japan, Philippines to Queensland, Australia [Nakayama, 2003:21]; New Caledonia; Mauritius [Tryon, 1887:81], Red Sea [Nyst, 1873:92]


Habitat:

intertidal to 15 m [Brown & Neville, 2011:82]


Etymology:

[latin] from Arabicus = of or relating to Arabia, in reference to the locality of the initially described specimen


Type Material:

Holotype (probable): MHNG 67919 (L. Brown & Neville 2011: 82) [as Cirsotrema kieneri Tapparone-Canefri, 1876] - Type Locality: none designated.. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]
Type not indicated in text [as Cirsotrema kieneri Tapparone Canefri, 1876] - Type Locality: Mauritius and New Caledonia. [Higo, S., Callomon, P. & Goto, Y., 1999]


SpeciesImage

arsint.com (2023).

54.2 mm, West of Port Hedland, Western Australia.

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Tryon, G.W. (1887).
Shown in text as Cirsotrema kieneri Tapparone Canefri, 1876
Species Image
Plate 17. Fig. 22.
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Plate 17. Fig. 21.
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pp: 81.
Kaicher, S.D. (1983).
Species Image
Card #: EP3-3584.
Wilson, B.R. (1993).
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pp: 274. Plate Amaea arabica.
Amaea arabica
Nakayama, T. (2003).
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pp: 142. Plate 20. Fig. 1-3.
figs 1-3:
Amaca (Scalina) kieneri (Tapparone-Canefri, 1876)
height 36.0 mm; breadth 8.2 mm (WMNH-Mo-Na103)
Species Image
pp: 142. Plate 20. Fig. 1-3.
figs 1-3:
Amaca (Scalina) kieneri (Tapparone-Canefri, 1876)
height 36.0 mm; breadth 8.2 mm (WMNH-Mo-Na103)
Brown, L. & Neville, B.D. (2011).
Species Image
pp: 83. Fig. 3-4.
3-4,11. Scalaria decussata Lamarck, sensu Kiener, 1838, length 40 mm, no locality data, MNHG 67919, probable holotype of Cirsotrema kieneri Tapparone-Canefri, 1876.
Species Image
pp: 83. Fig. 5-7.
5-6. Scalaria decussata Lamarck, sensu Kiener, 1838 (Kiener
arsint.com (2023).
Species Image
54.2 mm, West of Port Hedland, Western Australia.

Synonymy:

Amaea kieneri (Tapparone Canefri, 1876) [in Nakayama, T., 2003].
Cirsotrema kieneri Tapparone Canefri, 18 [in Weil, A., Brown, L. & Neville, B., 1999].
Cirsotrema kieneri Tapparone Canefri, 1876 [in arsint.com, 2023].
Cirsotrema kieneri Tapparone Canefri, 1876 [in Higo, S., Callomon, P. & Goto, Y., 1999].
Cirsotrema kieneri Tapparone Canefri, 1876 [in Tryon, G.W., 1887].
Cirsotrema kieneri Tapparone-Canefri, 1876 [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].
Scalaria arabica Nyst, 1871: ~ Scalaria decussata Kiener, 1838, non Lamarck, 1804; ~ Cirsotrema kieneri Tapparone-Canefri, 1876;~ Amaea sowerbyi Dunker, 1882. [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].


Source Literature:

arsint.com (2023). Shells for Sale:Epitonidae. arsint.com. http://www.arsint.com/seashells_epitoniidae_opalia.html [Accessed 21 October 2023]
Brown, L. & Neville, B.D. (2011). Nomenclatural notes on Amaea arabica (Nyst, 1871) comb. nov. and Cirsotremafimbriolatum (Melvill, 1897) (Gastropoda: Epitoniidae), two similar species from the Indo-Pacific faunal province. Novapex. 12(3-4)
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]
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. (1983). Epitoniidae III [Pack 35]. S. D. Kaicher, St. Petersburg, Florida. http://www.femorale.com/kaicher/species.asp?f=Epitoniidae&c=125 [Accessed 8 May 2023]
Nakayama, T. (2003). A Review of Northwest Pacific Epitoniids. Monographs of Marine Mollusca. 6. Backhuys Publishers
Nyst, H. (1873). Tableau synoptique et synonymique des espèces vivantes et fossiles du genre Scalaria décrites par les auteurs, avec l'indication des pays de provenance ainsi que des dépôts dans lesquels les espèces fossiles ont été recueillies. Mémoires de la Société Malacologique de Belgique.. 6. Société Malacologique de Belgique. http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/43230278 [Accessed ]
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]
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