Epitoniidae Berry, 1910 (1812)

Epitonium jukesianum

(Forbes, 1852)

Description:

Dimensions range from 9 mm - 25 mm high and 4.9 mm - 14 mm wide.
Width to height ratio: 0.54:1 ~ 0.56:1

Shell: tall, slender, elongate, narrow; thin; small to moderately small. Exterior colour white to pale purple- brown, costae white. About 14 whorls, rounded, rather flattened, connected, distinct at the suture; protoconch with ~3 whorls elongately turbinate, smooth, glossy, pale brown; teleoconch with 7-11 whorls convex. Spire elevated. Suture deeply impressed, or shallow. Imperforate: umbilicus closed, and no umbilical rib. Approximately 9 - 32 costae on the body whorl. Costae are lamelae close, simple ribs, varices numerous, rather laminar, nearly equal, thin, some thickened, sharp-edged. Costae usually continuous from whorl to whorl; upright, with a slight hook below suture; rolled back on top, reflected at the edge. Intercostal spaces are smooth and shining, may be very minutely spirally striated. Base last whorl encircled with a small distinct keel. Columella arched. Aperture ovate; peristome just complete; outer lip with normal rib externally, rather thin, incomplete; inner lip crossing as a glaze only to meet the outer lip. Operculum corneous.

Distinguished from Epitonium aculeatum (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844) by its very fine and much more numerous axial ribs.

Distribution:

New Caledonia [Tryon, 1887: 69]; Australia and New Zealand. In Australia, Keppel Bay Queensland, NSW southwards around southern Australia to south western WA, including Tasmania [Beechey, 2008].

Habitat:

intertidal [Weil et al., 1999:130], buried in sand, associated with sea anemones [Beechey, 2008], Common. Beach shell-sand.

Etymology:

It is dedicated to J. Beete Jukes, the author of 'The Voyage of the Fly' which detailed the surveying voyage of coastal Australia. Jukes' account is particularly significant for his description of the Queensland coast, the Great Barrier Reef, and the Torres Strait.

Type Material:

Syntypes: NHMUK 1870.10.26.103 [as Scalaria delicatula Crosse & P. Fischer, 1864:] - Type Locality: St. Vincent, South Australia.. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]
Holotype: NHMUK 1851.11.24.13 [as Scalaria jukesiana Forbes, 1852] - Type Locality: none given.. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]
Type not located. [as Scalaria wellingtonensis Kirk, 1880] - Type Locality: Wellington, New Zealand.. [Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015]
Type: Museum Stuttgart [as Scalaria wellingtonensis T. W. Kirk, 1880]. [Clessin, S., 1897]
Holotype: Australian Museum: C.60646 [as Epitonium fabia (Iredale, 1936)] - Type Locality: Australia, New South Wales, Sydney Harbour (33° 51' 00' S, 151° 14' 00' E) 1928 - 1929, Comtesse, Captain D L(Collector), Dredged.. [Australian Museum, 2026]
Syntype: Australian Museum: C.60645 [as Acutiscala ampacta Iredale, 1936] - Type Locality: Australia, New South Wales, Sydney Harbour (33° 51' 00' S, 151° 14' 00' E) 1928 - 1929, Comtesse, Captain D L(Collector), Dredged.. [Australian Museum, 2026]

SpeciesImage

Forbes, E. (1852). Plate iii. Fig. 7.

Distribution

as listed in source literature

Forbes, E. (1852).

Species Image

Plate iii. Fig. 7.

Species Image

pp: 383.

Original description

Crosse, H. & Fischer, P. (1864).

Shown in text as Scalaria delicatula Crosse & P. Fischer, 1864

Species Image

pp: 347.

2. Scalaria delicatula.
Shell imperforate, conical-turrited, elongate; white; whorls 11, the embryonic whorls smooth, the others gradually increasing, rounded, radially and closely ribbed; ribs lamellose, thin, the interspaces smooth; last whorl rounded, not carinate; aperture semi-lunate; columella and peristome scarcely reflected.
Length 16 mm, width 5 mm.
Habitat: in sand at the locality called

Reeve, L.A. (1873).

Shown in text as Scalaria delicatula Crosse & P. Fischer, 1864 ·

Species Image

Plate xv. Fig. 115.

Species Image

Reeve, L.A. (1873).

Species Image

Plate xi. Fig. 80.

Species Image

Kirk, T.W. (1880).

Shown in text as Scalaria wellingtonensis T. W. Kirk, 1880

Species Image

pp: 307.

Watson, R.B. (1886).

Species Image

pp: 139.

Tryon, G.W. (1887).

Shown in text as Scalaria jukesiana Forbes, 1852 and, Scalaria wellingtonensis T. W. Kirk, 1880

Species Image

Plate 14. Fig. 20.

Species Image

pp: 66.

Tryon, G.W. (1887).

Shown in text as Scalaria delicatula Crosse & P. Fischer, 1864 ·

Species Image

Plate 14. Fig. 39.

Species Image

pp: 69.

Species Image

pp: 69.

Clessin, S. (1897).

Shown in text as Scalaria delicatula Crosse & P. Fischer, 1864

Species Image

Plate 11. Fig. 5.

Species Image

pp: 38.

Shell thin, pointed, very finely spirally striated; whorls numerous, rounded; ribs unequal, mostly lamellar, some thickened, simple at the suture; the last whorl encircled by a small, distinct keel.

Clessin, S. (1897).

Shown in text as Scalaria wellingtonensis T. W. Kirk, 1880

Species Image

Plate 14. Fig. 3.

Species Image

pp: 53-54.

Shell small, pyramidal, imperforate, somewhat solid, whitish; whorls 7-8, growing slowly and regularly, rounded, separated by a deep suture, closely contiguous; varices numerous, sharp; aperture ovate.

Clessin, S. (1897).

Species Image

Plate 5. Fig. 1.

Species Image

pp: 18.

Shell small, white, imperforate, with an elevated spire; nine whorls, distinctly set off at the suture; numerous varices, somewhat lamellar, nearly uniform; aperture ovate, outer lip rather thin, columella arched.

Verco, J.C. (1906).

Species Image

pp: 144. Plate jukesiana.

jukesiana

Cotton, B.C. & Godfrey, F.K. (1931).

Species Image

pp: 6.

Iredale, T. (1936).

Shown in text as Acutiscala fabia, sp. novo

Species Image

Plate xxii. Fig. 8.

Species Image

pp: 298. Plate xxii.

Iredale, T. (1936).

Shown in text as Acutiscala ampacta, Sp. novo

Species Image

Plate xxii. Fig. 7.

Species Image

pp: 298. Plate xxii.

Macpherson, J.H. & Gabriel, C.J. (1962).

Species Image

pp: 116. Fig. 143.

Species Image

pp: 117.

Wilson, B.R. (1993).

Species Image

pp: 379. Plate plate 44. Fig. 22.

Wilson, B.R. (1993).

Shown in text as Epitonium fabia (Iredale, 1936)

Species Image

pp: 277.

Epitonium fabaia (Iredale, 1936)

Wilson, B.R. (1993).

Shown in text as Epitonium delicatulum (Crosse, 1864)

Species Image

pp: 379. Plate 44. Fig. 15.

Epitonium delicatulum (Crosse & P. Fischer, 1864)

Australian Museum (2026).

Shown in text as Epitonium fabia (Iredale, 1936)

Species Image

Fig. C.60646.

Epitonium fabia (Iredale, 1936)
Holotype: C.60646
Australia, New South Wales, Sydney Harbour (33° 51' 00" S, 151° 14' 00" E) 1928 - 1929, Comtesse, Captain D L(Collector), Dredged.
Australian Museum. Photograph: M. Allen.
Copyright Australian Museum. Released under Creative Commons Licence CC BY-NC 4.0.

Australian Museum (2026).

Shown in text as Acutiscala ampacta Iredale, 1936

Species Image

Fig. C.60645.

Acutiscala ampacta Iredale, 1936
Syntype: C.60645
Australia, New South Wales, Sydney Harbour (33° 51' 00" S, 151° 14' 00" E) 1928 - 1929, Comtesse, Captain D L(Collector), Dredged.
Australian Museum. Photograph: M. Allen.
Copyright Australian Museum. Released under Creative Commons Licence CC BY-NC 4.0.

Synonymy:

Acutiscala ampacta Iredale, 1936 [in Australian Museum, 2026].
Acutiscala ampacta Iredale, 1936: [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].
Acutiscala ampacta, Sp. novo [in Iredale, T., 1936].
Acutiscala fabia Iredale, 1936: [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].
Acutiscala fabia, sp. novo [in Iredale, T., 1936].
Clathrus jukesianum Forbes, 1852 [in Cotton, B.C. & Godfrey, F.K., 1931].
Epitonium ampactum (Iredale, 1936) [in Kaicher, S.D., 1981].
Epitonium delicatulum (Crosse, 1864) [in Wilson, B.R., 1993].
Epitonium fabia (Iredale, 1936) [in Australian Museum, 2026].
Epitonium fabia (Iredale, 1936) [in Hutchings, P. & Ahyong, S. & Ashcroft, M. & Mcgrouther, Mark & Reid, A., 2013].
Epitonium fabia (Iredale, 1936) [in Wilson, B.R., 1993].
Scala delicatula H. Adams, 1869: ~ Scala tenera H. Adams, 1873. [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].
Scala delicatula Humphrey, 1797: [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].
Scalaria delicatula Crosse & P. Fischer, 1864 [in Clessin, S., 1897].
Scalaria delicatula Crosse & P. Fischer, 1864 [in Crosse, H. & Fischer, P., 1864].
Scalaria delicatula Crosse & P. Fischer, 1864 [in Tryon, G.W., 1887].
Scalaria delicatula Crosse & P. Fischer, 1864 · [in Reeve, L. A., 1873].
Scalaria delicatula Crosse & P. Fischer, 1864: [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].
Scalaria jukesiana Forbes, 1852 [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].
Scalaria jukesiana Forbes, 1852 and, Scalaria wellingtonensis T. W. Kirk, 1880 [in Tryon, G.W., 1887].
Scalaria wellingtonensis Kirk, 1880 [in Brown, L. & Neville, B.D., 2015].
Scalaria wellingtonensis T. W. Kirk, 1880 [in Clessin, S., 1897].
Scalaria wellingtonensis T. W. Kirk, 1880 [in Kirk, T.W., 1880].

Source Literature:

Australian Museum (2026). Australian Museum provider for OZCAM. Occurrence dataset. Atlas of Living Australia. https://doi.org/10.15468/e7susi accessed via GBIF.org [Accessed 18 July 2026]
Beechey, D. (2008j). Epitonium_jukesianum. Seashells of NSW. https://seashellsofnsw.org.au/Epitoniidae/Pages/Epitonium_jukesianum.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]
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]
Cotton, B.C. & Godfrey, F.K. (1931). South Australian Shells Part II. The South Australian Naturalist. 13(1). Field Naturalists Society of South Australia. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42129287 [Accessed 8 June 2025]
Crosse, H. & Fischer, P. (1864). Diagnoses Molluscorum Australiae meridionalis. Journal de Conchyliologie. 12(4). https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16055567 [Accessed 25 December 2025]
Forbes, E. (1852). On the mollusca collected by Mr. MacGillivray during the voyage of the Rattlesnake by Professor Edward Forbes, F.R.S.. Narrative of the voyage of the H.M.S. Rattlesnake, commanded by the late Captain Owen Stanley, during the years 1846-1850, volume 2 . 2. London: T. & W. Boone.. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/38053940#page/378/mode/1up [Accessed 10 September 2023]
Hutchings, P. & Ahyong, S. & Ashcroft, M. & Mcgrouther, Mark & Reid, A. (2013). Sydney Harbour: its diverse biodiversity. Australian Zoologist. 36. http://dx.doi.org/10.7882/AZ.2012.031 [Accessed 28 February 2026]
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]
Kaicher, S.D. (1981). Epitoniidae II [Pack 30]. S. D. Kaicher, St. Petersburg, Florida. http://www.femorale.com/kaicher/species.asp?f=Epitoniidae&c=125 [Accessed 8 May 2023]
Kirk, T.W. (1880). Descriptions of new Marine Shells. Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 12. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/71940 [Accessed 21 June 2025]
Macpherson, J.H. & Gabriel, C.J. (1962). Marine Molluscs of Victoria. Melbourne University Press and National Museum of Victoria: Melbourne.. https://archive.org/details/marinemolluscsof0000jhop/page/118/mode/2up [Accessed 13 June 2025]
Reeve, L. A. (1873). Monograph of the genus Scalaria. Conchologia iconica, or illustrations of the shells of molluscous animal. 19. London. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8217819 [Accessed 24 August 2023]
South Wales. 26(3). https://biostor.org/reference/53643 [Accessed 5 November 2025]
Tate, R. & May, W.L. (1901). A revised census of the marine Mollusca of Tasmania. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New
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]
Verco, J.C. (1906). Notes on South Australian marine Mollusca, with descriptions of new species. Part IV.. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of South Australia. 30 Pt 4. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16124267 [Accessed 19 June 2023]
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
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