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Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Epitonium bellicosum

Hedley, 1907

Description:

Dimensions range from 5 mm - 15 mm high and 3.25 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.65:1 ~ 0.22:1

Shell: slender, turreted; minute to small. Exterior colour white. About 8 whorls, rounded, disconnected, joined only by costae; protoconch with ~3 whorls smooth and tightly rolled; teleoconch with ~5 whorls. Umbilicate: closed or open as a narrow slit. Approximately 14 - 20 costae on the body whorl. Costae are thin, high, erect, ragged on top. Costae aligned from whorl to whorl; with a sharp point at the shoulder; rolled back on top; continuous. Intercostal spaces smooth or with faint spiral grooves. Aperture ovate, lip with normal rib externally, reflected; outer lip with angled shoulder, broad with a prominent hook. Operculum corneous.


Distribution:

Sydney, NSW, south to Bass Strait [Beechey, 2008]


Habitat:

offshore from 110-1463 m. [Beechey, 2008]


Etymology:

[latin] from bellum = war, bellicosus is the adjective meaning warlike


Type Material:

Syntypes: NHMUK 1907.9.10.20 [as Epitonium bellicosum Hedley, 1907:] - Type Locality: 35 miles east of Sydney, New South Wales, 800 fms [= 1463 m], and 23 miles east of Sydney, New South Wales, 250 fms [= 457 m].. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]


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Hedley, C. (1907). Plate LXVII. Fig. 18.

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Hedley, C. (1907).
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Plate LXVII. Fig. 18.
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pp: 360.
Iredale, T. (1936).
Shown in text as Mazescala bellicosa (Hedley, 1907)
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Plate xxii. Fig. 4.
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pp: 296. Plate xxii.
Kaicher, S.D. (1980).
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Card #: EP1-2293.
Beechey, D. (2008).
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pp: Epitonium bellicosum. Fig. 1.
Holotype: of Epitonium bellicosum. 35 miles east of Sydney, 800 fathoms (1463 m) (C.026629). Figure from Hedley (1907).
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pp: Epitonium bellicosum. Fig. 2.
Holotype: of Mazescala thrasys. Off Green Cape, NSW, 70 fathoms (128 m) (C.060641)

Synonymy:

Epitonium bellicosum Hedley, 1907: [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].
Mazescala bellicosa (Hedley, 1907) [in Iredale, T., 1936].


Source Literature:

Beechey, D. (2008). Shells NSW -Epitonium_bellicosum. https://seashellsofnsw.org.au/Epitoniidae/Pages/Epitonium_bellicosum.htm [Accessed 9 May 2023]
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]
Hedley, C. (1907). The results of deep-sea investigation in the Tasman Sea. II. The expedition of the 'Woy Woy'. 2. Mollusca from eight hundred fathoms, thirty-five miles east of Sydney. Records of the Australian Museum. 6. https://doi.org/10.3853/j.0067-1975.6.1907.1020 [Accessed 7 July 2025]
Iredale, T. (1936). Australian molluscan notes. No. 2.. Records of the Australian Museum. 19(5). Australian Museum, Sydney. doi:10.3853/j.0067-1975.19.1936.704 [Accessed 14 September 2023]
Kaicher, S.D. (1980). Epitoniidae I [Pack 23]. S. D. Kaicher, St. Petersburg, Florida. http://www.femorale.com/kaicher/species.asp?f=Epitoniidae&c=125 [Accessed 8 May 2023]
Weil, A., Brown, L. & Neville, B. (1999). The Wentletrap Book. Evolver
WoRMS Editorial Board (2025). World Register of Marine Species. https://www.marinespecies.org [Accessed 8 November 2025]

WoRMS direct page link: Open WoRMS record