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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, thin, fine, numerous, appearing slightly crenelated where they are crossed by the spiral sculpture. Costae do not cross the suture; not peaked; not reflected. 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]; Abrolhos, WA to Southern QLD [Wilson, 1993: 274]; New Caledonia; Mauritius [Tryon, 1887:81]; Arabian Sea, off Maharashtra, NW India [Melvill & Standen, 1903a:349]; 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

Murrell, T. (2023). Fig. 101572.

Collected from sand, shell grit and mud at 450-500 m by Trawled by scampi boats.
150nm West Of Port Hedland, Western Australia, 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.
Species Image
Plate 17. Fig. 21.
Species Image
pp: 81.
Murrell, T. (2023).
Species Image
Fig. 101572.
Collected from sand, shell grit and mud at 450-500 m by Trawled by scampi boats.
150nm West Of Port Hedland, Western Australia, Australia
Species Image
Fig. 1057.3.
Collected from sand, shell grit and mud at 450-500 m by Trawled by scampi boats.
150nm West Of Port Hedland, Western Australia, 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 Tapparone Canefri, C, 1876].
Cirsotrema kieneri Tapparone Canefri, 1876 [in Tryon, G.W., 1887].
Cirsotrema kieneri Tapparone-Canefri, 1876 [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].
Scala (Cirsotrema) kieneri Tapparone-Canefri, 1876 [in Melvill, J. C. & Standen, R., 1903a].
Scalaria arabica Nyst, 1871 [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 Cirsotrema fimbriolatum (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]
Melvill, J. C. & Standen, R. (1903a). The genus Scala (Klein) Humphrey, as represented in the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and North Arabian Sea, with descriptions of new species.. Journal of Conchology. 10. Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/31650162 [Accessed 26 February 2025]
Murrell, T. (2023). Personal Collection
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 ]
Tapparone Canefri, C (1876). Rectifications dans la nomenclature de quelques espèces du genre Scalaria. Journal de Conchyliologie. 24(2). https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16071459 [Accessed 29 July 2026]
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. Vol.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