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Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Epitonium sandwichense

(Nyst, 1873)

Description:

Dimensions range from 3 mm - 12 mm high and 1 mm - 4.41 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.33:1 ~ 0.37:1

Shell: elomgate, slender conical; rather thick, sturdy; microscopic to small. Exterior colour white. About 14 whorls, rounded, narrowly separate; protoconch with ~4 whorls smooth, glassy; teleoconch with 7-10 whorls evenly spaced, moderately thick costae. Suture very deep, but not detached, however Pilsbry [1920:375] indicated they are detached and joined by the cosate, Pease [1868:289], DuShane [1990:7] and Tryon [1887:65] also mentions the whorls are 'narrowly separate'. Imperforate. Approximately 7 - 12 costae on the body whorl. Costae are stout, regular, laminate. Costae costae of adjoining whorls are in line; coronate, with peaks that are also strongly curved; outer margins strongly curved, recurved; continuous from whorl to whorl. Intercostal spaces decussated by fine axial and spiral striae. Aperture nearly round, with a broad callus at its columellar side, lip entire.

[Kokshoorn et al. [2007:41] are not convinced that E. sandwhichense is the same species originally described from Hawaii as Scalaria decussata by Pease (1868) and Epitonium kanemoe by Pilsbry (1921).


Distribution:

Hawaiian Islands; Okinawal Tuamoto Archipelago; Fiji; Philippines; Australia; Guam, Mariana Islands; Papua New guinea, Malaysia; Maldives [DuShane, 1990:7] Gilbert Islands [Tryon, 1887:65]


Habitat:

Intertidal coral rubble and sand to 169 m. Host Macrodactyla doreensis, Heteractis crispa, Stichodactyla haddoni. Kakshroon, Gittenberger & Gittenberger (2007)


Etymology:

In reference to the Sandwich Islands- Hawaii


Type Material:

Syntypes: ANSP 19585 [as Scalaria decussata Pease, 1868] - Type Locality: Hawaii (Sandwich Islands).. [Pease, W. H., 1868]
Holotype: ANSP 127822 [as Epitonium kanemoe Pilsbry, 1921] - Type Locality: Haena, Kauai. [Pilsbry, H. A., 1920]
Type not listed in source document for Epitonium sandwichense (Nyst, 1873) - Type Locality: Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia. [Nyst, H., 1873]


SpeciesImage

Tryon, G.W. (1887). Plate 13. Fig. 14.

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Pease, W. H. (1868).
Shown in text as Scalaria decussata Pease, 1868
Species Image
Plate 24. Fig. 10.
Species Image
pp: 289.
Nyst, H. (1873).
Species Image
pp: 132.
Tryon, G.W. (1887).
Shown in text as Scalaria decussata Pease, 1868
Species Image
Plate 13. Fig. 14.
Species Image
pp: 65.
Pilsbry, H. A. (1920).
Shown in text as Epitonium kanemoe Pilsbry, 1921
Species Image
pp: 376. Plate 11. Fig. b.
Species Image
pp: 375.
Kokshoorn, B., Gittenberger, J. & Gittenberger, A (2007).
Species Image
pp: 39. Fig. 13-14.
E.cf.sandwichense (Nyst,1871)
13,W. side of Bona Baku reef (RMNH87795), H=6.7 mm;
14,NW.side of Kudingareng Keke Island (RMNH87772),H=7.7mm.

Synonymy:

Epitonium kanemoe Pilsbry, 1921 [in Pilsbry, H. A., 1920].
Scalaria decussata Pease, 1868 [in Pease, W. H., 1868].
Scalaria decussata Pease, 1868 [in Tryon, G.W., 1887].
Scalaria sandwichensis Nyst, 1871: ~ Scalaria kanemoe Pilsbry, 1921. [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].


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]
DuShane, H. (1990). Hawaiian Epitoniidae. Hawaiian Shell News. 38(Sup.1). Hawaiian Malacological Society
Kokshoorn, B., Gittenberger, J. & Gittenberger, A (2007). Epitoniid parasites (Gastropoda, Caenogastropoda, Epitoniidae) and their host sea anemones (Cnidaria,Actiniaria,Ceriantharia) in the Spermonde archipelago, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Basteria. 71(1-3)
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 ]
Pease, W. H. (1868). Description of sixty-five new species of marine Gastropodae, inhabiting Polynesia. American Journal of Conchology. 3(4). https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/6659055 [Accessed 20 March 2025]
Pilsbry, H. A. (1920). Marine Mollusks of Hawaii: XIV, XV. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 72. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/partpdf/84996 [Accessed 4 June 2025]
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]
WoRMS Editorial Board (2025). World Register of Marine Species. https://www.marinespecies.org [Accessed 8 November 2025]

WoRMS direct page link: Open WoRMS record