Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Cylindriscala acus

(Watson, 1883)

Description:

Dimensions range from 4.4 mm - 13 mm high and 1.4 mm - 5 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.32:1 ~ 0.38:1

Shell: compact, long, sharp; solidly ribbed; minute to small. Exterior colour ivory white. About 12 whorls, moderately convex , connected; strongly sculptured; protoconch with ~3 whorls brownish-yellow, smooth and glass-like.; teleoconch with ~9 whorls constricted at the suture. Spire high, narrow, conical with angle of 20 degrees. Suture wide and deep. Imperforate. Approximately 15 - 19 costae on the body whorl. Costae are strong, raised, rounded ribs. Intercostal spaces exceedingly fine spiral sculpture, smooth. Base ridge well developed. Columella short and arched. Aperture subcircular. Operculum unknown.

Note that Watson's initial description [Watson, 1883] stated that the shell had no spiral striations. However, he later accepted the observations of Dr. Gwyn Jeffreys, who had pointed out the presence of spiral striae on the species. Watson admitted: 'I had described the shell originally on a dull day, when these striae were invisible' [Watson, 1886]. This, however, was incorrect. The result was a misunderstanding of the true acus, which led de Boury (1909) to describe it as fulgens.

Distribution:

Eastern Atlantic, from Portugal to the Azores [Bouchet & Warén 1986]. Tryon [1887:75], Clench & Turner [1952] and Watson, [1883] all report West Indies as a location, however Bouchet & Waren [1986] were unable to locate the material from that location; Puerto Rico, Rio de Janeiro, from 7m in bat-fish digestive tract [Rios, 1985:158]

Habitat:

off shore fairly to very deep, 785-2200 m [Bouchet & Warén, 1986]

Etymology:

[latin] from acus = needle, sharp point in reference to the shape of the shell

Type Material:

Holotype: NHMUK 1887.2.9.498; Bouchet & Warén (1986: 531) indicate that Watson's illustration (1886: pl. 9, figs. 2a-c) agrees with the holotype. for Cylindriscala acus (Watson, 1883) - Type Locality: Lat. 38° 30'N., Long. 31° 14'W. W. of Azores. 1000 fms [= 1829 m]. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]
holotype: IRSN [Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles, Brussels, Belgium] [as Scala fulgens de Boury, 1909] - Type Locality: PRINCESSE ALICE drag. 71, subsequently designated MONACO station 578, 38° 26'N, 26° 31'W, Azores, 1165 m.. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]
not located [as Scala acus var. parcicostata Dautzenberg & de Boury, 1897:] - Type Locality: none designated. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]
none located [as Scalaria solidula 'Jeffreys ms.' Monterosato, 1875:] - Type Locality: Palermo, 200 m Atl.. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]

SpeciesImage

Clessin, S. (1897). Plate 11. Fig. 2.

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Watson, R.B. (1883).

Species Image

pp: 608-069.

Watson, R.B. (1886).

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Plate IX. Fig. 2a-c.

a.

Species Image

pp: 140.

Tryon, G.W. (1887).

Species Image

Plate 16. Fig. 92.

Species Image

Plate 18. Fig. 80.

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pp: 75.

Clessin, S. (1897).

Species Image

Plate 11. Fig. 2.

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pp: 43.

Shell small, elongated, pointed, with a deep suture, no spiral sculpture, (?) sculptured with 15

Boury, E. de. (1909).

Shown in text as Scalaria fulgens de Boury, 1909

Species Image

pp: 483.

= Scalaria acus Watson, as cited by Locard (loc. cit., p.-).

Translation:
The specimen dredged in the Azores by the Talisman expedition and referenced by Jeffreys has not been examined directly. Several forms exist which, without careful study, closely resemble Watson's species.
Messrs. Dautzenberg and I both fell into the same error as Locard. We were later able to re-examine one of the two specimens-the one collected by the Princesse Alice, station 71, at a depth of 1,165 meters-and confirmed that it represents an entirely different form: Scalaria fulgens de Boury, nov. sp., which is completely devoid of the spiral striae (or has only faint spiral markings) reported by Watson for the type (p. 140).
It is possible, even probable, that Watson confused two distinct forms, and that the Azorean specimen is not the same as the one from Isla Culebra, in the Antilles. There is a strong likelihood that the shell from the Azores should, in fact, be assigned to our Scalaria fulgens.

Clench, W. J. & Turner, R. D. (1952b).

Species Image

pp: 334. Plate 161. Fig. 5-6.

Cylindriscala acus Watson (10x) and enlarged apex (50x). All after Watson, Challenger Report, plate 9.

Kaicher, S.D. (1983).

Species Image

Card #: EP3-3565.

Bouchet, P. & Warén, A. (1986).

Species Image

pp: 533. Fig. 1236.

Holotype of C. fulgens, 4.9 m.

Synonymy:

Scala acus var. parcicostata Dautzenberg & de Boury, 1897: [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].
Scala fulgens de Boury, 1909 [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].
Scalaria fulgens de Boury, 1909 [in Boury, E. de., 1909].
Scalaria solidula 'Jeffreys ms.' Monterosato, 1875: [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].
Scalaria solidula 'Jeffreys' de Boury, 1891 [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].

Source Literature:

Bouchet, P. & Warén, A. (1986). Revision of the Northeast Atlantic bathyal and abyssal Aclididae Eulimidae, Epitonidae (Mollusca, Gastropoda).. Bollettino Malacologico.. suppl. 2. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/140762 [Accessed 21 September 2023]
Boury, E. de. (1909). Observations sur les Scalidæ des Expéditions du Travailleur et du Talisman.. Bulletin du Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. 15(7). https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/331845 [Accessed 9 July 2025]
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. (1952b). The Genus Epitonium in the Western Atlantic pt 2. Jonsonia. 2(31). The Department of Mollusks Museum of Comparative Zoology Harvard University. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/41155986#page/303/mode/1up [Accessed 25 June 2023]
Clessin, S. (1897). Die Familie der Scalariidae. In W. Kobelt (Ed.), Systematisches Conchylien-Cabinet von Martini und Chemnitz. Neu herausgegeben und vervollständigt. 2(13). Bauer & Raspe, NürnbergBauer & Raspe, Nürnberg. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34259905 [Accessed 21 June 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]
Lima, S. F. B & Christoffersen, M. L. (2012). Checklist of Recent Cyllindriscala [Caenogastropoda: Epitoniidae] of the World. Check List. 8[4]. DOI:10.15560/8.4.740 [Accessed 27 August 2025]
Rios, E.C. (1985). Seashells of Brazil. Fundação Universidade do Rio Grande.
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]
Watson, R.B. (1883). Mollusca of H.M.S. 'Challenger' Expedition.-Part XV. The Journal of the Linnean Society of London. Zoology. 16(96). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.1883.tb02400.x [Accessed 9 July 2025]
Watson, R.B. (1886). Report on the Scaphopoda and Gasteropoda collected by H.M.S. Challenger during the years 1873-76. Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger during the years 1873-76, Zoology. 15(2). https://www.19thcenturyscience.org/HMSC/HMSC-Reports/Zool-42/htm/doc.html [Accessed 9 July 2025]
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