Epitonium is a genus of small predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks. Epitonium is the type genus of the family Epitoniidae, the wentletraps.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2010). Epitonium Röding, 1798. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=137943 on 2010-11-22
The common name wentletraps is derived from the Dutch word , denoting a spiral staircase. This refers to the striking form and sculpture of the shells of the mollusks in this genus, and to a lesser extent, the whole family.
The genus Epitonium has been divided in the past by some authors into several subgenera, but these subgenera were based only on shell characters and did not reflect the true underlying relationships or phylogeny.
Shell description Epitonium shells are high-spired, and are all-white in most of the species within this genus. A few species are tinted with brown to varying degrees, or have a brown stripe on the shoulder of the whorl. The shells typically have blade-like vertical ribs, known as costae.
Habitat Wentletraps usually live in sand near sea anemones or corals.
Life habits These snails are predators and feed by inserting their proboscis and biting out small pieces of the anemone's tissues. Some species of wentletrap feed on only one species of sea anemone, in other words they are species-specific in terms of their prey.
Synonymised genera Many species that now are placed in the genus Epitonium have, over the years, been classified in other genera. These have become synonyms of Epitonium :
Aciona Leach, 1815 Acutiscala de Boury, 1909 Amiciscala Jousseaume, 1912 Anguliscala de Boury, 1909 Asperiscala de Boury, 1909 Avalitiscala de Boury, 1912 Cinctiscala de Boury, 1909 Cirratiscala de Boury, 1909) Clathrus Oken, 1815 Connexiscala de Boury, 1909 Crenuliscala Iredale, 1936 Crisposcala de Boury, 1886 Cyclostoma Lamarck, 1799 Decussiscala de Boury, 1909 Delicatiscala de Boury, 1909 Dulciscala de Boury, 1909 Eburniscala de Boury, 1909 Epitonium (Asperiscala) de Boury, 1909 Epitonium (Clathrus) Epitonium (Epitonium) Röding, 1798 · accepted, alternate representation Epitonium (Hyaloscala) de Boury, 1889 · accepted, alternate representation Epitonium (Papyriscala) de Boury, 1909 accepted, alternate representation Evolutiscala de Boury, 1909 Firmiscala de Boury, 1909 Folaceiscala de Boury, 1912 Foliaceiscala de Boury, 1912 Foraceiscala de Boury, 1911 Foveoscala de Boury, 1909 Fragiliscala Azuma, 1962 Fusicoscala Monterosato, 1890 Glabriscala de Boury, 1909 Graciliscala de Boury, 1909 Gradatiscala de Boury, 1909 Gyroscala (Fragiliscala) Azuma, 1962 Hirtoscala Monterosato, 1890 Hyaloscala de Boury, 1890 Innesiscala Jousseaume, 1912 Janthoscala Mörch, 1875 Labeoscala de Boury, 1912 Laeviscala de Boury, 1909 Lamelliscala de Boury, 1909 Lepidiscala de Boury, 1909 Limiscala de Boury, 1909 Limniscala Dollfus, 1913 Linctoscala Monterosato, 1890 Lineoscala de Boury, 1909 Mazescala Iredale, 1936 Melanopsis Férussac, 1807 Minutiscala de Boury, 1909 Nipponoscala Masahito & Habe, 1973 Nitidiscala de Boury, 1909 Nitidoscala Strong, 1930 Papyriscala de Boury, 1909 Parviscala de Boury, 1887 Perlucidiscala de Boury, 1912 Pudentiscala Iredale, 1938 Pupiscala Masahito, Kuroda & Habe, 1971 Resticuliscala Cossmann, 1912 Reticuliscala de Boury, 1909 Scala Mörch, 1852 Scala (Innesiscala) de Boury in Jousseaume, 1912 Scala (Perlucidiscala) de Boury in Jousseaume, 1912 Scalaria Lamarck, 1801 Scalaria (Parviscala) de Boury, 1887 Scalarus Montfort, 1810 (Unjustified emendation of Scalaria) Scalatarius Duméril, 1806 Sodaliscala de Boury, 1909 Sphaeroscala Monterosato, 1890 Spiniscala de Boury, 1909 Turbiniscala de Boury, 1909 Viciniscala de Boury, 1909
Species
Species within the genus Epitonium include:
Note: Some malacologists have recently placed many of the more than 600 named species into other genera, which were previously considered to be subgenera of the genus Epitonium. On the other hand, many species that belonged to subgenera of Epitonium are now included in Epitonium. These subgenera were based on details of the shell sculpture and not on molecular analysis.
Epitonium abyssicola (Schepman, 1909) Epitonium acanthopleurum (Verco, 1906) Epitonium acapulcanum Dall, 1917 Epitonium actinariophilum (Masahito & Habe 1976) Epitonium aculeatum (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844) Epitonium adjunctum (Jousseaume, 1912) Epitonium aequale (Thiele, 1925) Epitonium agitabile (Jousseaume, 1912) Epitonium alabiforme Kilburn, 1985 Epitonium alatum (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844) Epitonium albidum (d'Orbigny, 1842) - bladed wentletrap Epitonium albolineatum (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844) Epitonium algerianum (Weinkauff, 1866) Epitonium alizonum (Melvill, 1912) Epitonium amathusium (Melvill & Standen, 1903) Epitonium amicum (Jousseaume, 1894) Epitonium amiculum Kilburn, 1985 Epitonium amplexus Nakayama, 2003 Epitonium anabathmos Kilburn, 1985 Epitonium ancillotoi Cossignani T. & Cossignani V., 1998 Epitonium angulatum (Say, 1830) - angulate wentletrap Epitonium angulicinctum (de Boury, 1913) Epitonium antisoa (Iredale, 1936) Epitonium apiculatum (Dall, 1889) - semismooth wentletrap Epitonium aranea Bonfitto, 2017 Epitonium arcanum DuShane, 1979 Epitonium artimi (Jousseaume, 1912) Epitonium atomus (E. A. Smith, 1890) Epitonium attenuatum (Sowerby, J. de C., 1874) Epitonium audouini (Jousseaume, 1894) Epitonium aureomaculatum (Masahito & Habe, 1973) Epitonium auritum (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844) Epitonium austrocaledonicum (Montrouzier, 1859) Epitonium avalites (Jousseaume, 1912) Epitonium babylonium (Dall, 1889) - tower wentletrap Epitonium barissum (Iredale, 1936) Epitonium beachportense (Cotton & Godfrey, 1938) Epitonium bellastriatum (Carpenter, 1864) Epitonium bellicosum Hedley, 1907 Epitonium bengalense (E. A. Smith, 1899) Epitonium bevdeynzerae Garcia E., 2001 Epitonium blainei Clench & Turner, 1953 Epitonium bonaespei (Barnard, 1963) Epitonium bouryi (Jousseaume, 1894) Epitonium boutetorum Garcia, 2016 Epitonium brachyspeira Kilburn, 1985 Epitonium brevissimum (Seguenza, 1876) Epitonium bucknilli Powell, 1924 Epitonium bulbulum (Sowerby II, 1844) Epitonium bullatum (Sowerby, 1844) Epitonium caamanoi Dall & Bartsch, 1910 Epitonium calideum (Melvill & Standen, 1903) Epitonium californicum Dall, 1917 Epitonium callipeplum Dall, 1919 Epitonium candeanum (d'Orbigny, 1842) Epitonium candidissimum (Monterosato, 1877) Epitonium canna Dall, 1919 Epitonium cantrainei (Weinkauff, 1866) Epitonium carchedon (Iredale, 1936) Epitonium castum (A. Adams, 1873) Epitonium catalinae Dall, 1908 Epitonium catalinense Dall, 1917 Epitonium catanuense (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844) Epitonium celesti (Aradas, 1854) Epitonium cerdantum (Melvill & Standen, 1903) Epitonium championi Clench & Turner, 1952 Epitonium chiarae Bozzetti, 2007 Epitonium chinglinae Lee & Wu, 1998 Epitonium christiani Bozzetti, 2008 Epitonium christyi (Iredale, 1936) Epitonium clathratulum (Kanmacher, 1798) Epitonium clathrus Linnaeus, 1758 - common wentletrap Epitonium clementinum Grateloup, J.P.S. de, 1840 Epitonium climacotum Kilburn, 1985 Epitonium columba Kilburn, 1985 Epitonium columnella Dall, 1917 Epitonium commodum (E. A. Smith, 1890) Epitonium commutatum Monterosato, 1877 Epitonium conjunctum (Yokoyama, 1922) Epitonium connexum (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844) Epitonium continens (Melvill & Standen, 1903) Epitonium cookeanum Dall, 1917 Epitonium cophinodes (Melvill, 1904) Epitonium coretum (Iredale, 1936) Epitonium corniculum Y.-C. Lee & C.-W. Huang, 2016 Epitonium coronatum Lamarck, 1816: synonym of Gyroscala coronata (Lamarck, 1816) Epitonium coutieri (Jousseaume, 1912) Epitonium couturieri (de Boury, 1912) Epitonium crassicostatum Gittenberger & Gittenberger, 2005 Epitonium crassilabrum Epitonium crassum (G. B. Sowerby II, 1847) Epitonium creberrimum (Hinds, 1843) Epitonium crebricostatum Carpenter, 1864 Epitonium crispatum (Pease, 1863) Epitonium crypticorona Kilburn, 1985 Epitonium cultellicostum (de Boury, 1913) Epitonium cumingii (Carpenter, 1856) Epitonium curvilineatum (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844) Epitonium dallianum (Verrill & Smith, 1880) Epitonium deflersi (Jousseaume, 1912) Epitonium deificum (Melvill & Standen, 1903) Epitonium denticulatum (Sowerby II, 1844) tooth-rib wentletrap Epitonium dentiscalpium (Watson, 1883) Epitonium deschampsi Garcia, 2003 Epitonium dubium (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844) Epitonium duocamurum Lee Y.C., 2001 Epitonium durhamianum Hertlein & Strong, 1951 Epitonium eboreum (E. A. Smith, 1906) Epitonium eclecticum (Melvill & Standen, 1903) Epitonium elenense (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844) Epitonium elisae Bozzetti, 2007 Epitonium eltanini (Dell, 1990) Epitonium emiliae (Melvill & Standen, 1903) Epitonium emydonesus Dall, 1917 Epitonium erroneum (Tapparone-Canefri, 1876) Epitonium eulita (Dall & Simpson, 1901) Epitonium eusculptum (Sowerby III, 1903) Epitonium eutaenium Dall, 1917 Epitonium evanidstriatum Zelaya & Güller, 2017 Epitonium eximiellum (Masahito, Kuroda & Habe, 1971) Epitonium eximium (A. Adams & Reeve, 1850) Epitonium extenuicostum (de Boury, 1913) Epitonium fabrizioi Pastorino & Penchaszadeh, 1998 Epitonium falconi Kilburn, 1985 Epitonium fasciatum (Sowerby, 1844) Epitonium fauroti (Jousseaume, 1912) Epitonium fenestratum (Strebel, 1908) Epitonium ferminense L. G. Brown, 2019 Epitonium ferrugineum (Mörch, 1852) Epitonium ferussacii (Audouin, 1816) Epitonium fischeri (Watson, 1897) Epitonium foliaceicosta (d'Orbigny, 1842) - wrinkle-rib wentletrap Epitonium fractum Dall, 1927 - humble wentletrap Epitonium fragile (Hanley, 1840) Epitonium friabile (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844) Epitonium frielei (Dall, 1889) Epitonium fucatum (Pease, 1861) Epitonium fulvovittatum (Dautzenberg, 1890) Epitonium georgettinum (Kiener, 1839) Epitonium glabratum (Hinds, 1843) Epitonium gloriolum (Melvill & Standen, 1901) Epitonium godfreyi Cotton, 1938 Epitonium goldsmithi (DuShane, 1988) Epitonium goniophorum (Melvill & Standen, 1903) Epitonium gracile (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844) Epitonium graciliconfusum Nakayama, 2000 Epitonium gradaticostatum (Fenaux, 1938) Epitonium gradatum (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844) Epitonium gradilis (Jousseaume, F.P., 1912) Epitonium graviarmatum Gittenberger & Gittenberger, 2005 Epitonium gravieri (Jousseaume, F.P., 1912) Epitonium greenlandicum (Perry, 1811) - Greenland wentletrap Epitonium habeli Dall, 1917 Epitonium hamatulae Preston, 1915 Epitonium hancocki DuShane, 1970 Epitonium harimaense Makiyama, 1924 Epitonium harpa (Jousseaume, 1912) Epitonium harpago Kilburn, 1985 Epitonium hartogi Gittenberger, 2003 Epitonium hayashii (Habe, 1961) Epitonium heloris (Iredale, 1936) Epitonium hemmesi DuShane, 1988 Epitonium hexagonum (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844) Epitonium hindsii (Carpenter, 1856) Epitonium hispidulum (Monterosato, 1874) Epitonium histricosum (Jousseaume, 1912) Epitonium hoeksemai Gittenberger, A., Goud & Gittenberger, E., 2000: synonym of Epifungium hoeksemai (A. Gittenberger & Goud, 2000) Epitonium hueti Bozzetti, 2011 Epitonium huffmani DuShane & McLean, 1968 Epitonium humerosum (Sowerby III, 1901) Epitonium humphreysii (Kiener, 1838) - Humphrey's wentletrap Epitonium hyalinum (Sowerby, G.B. II, 1844) Epitonium idalium (Melvill, 1912) Epitonium ilariae Bozzetti, 2007 Epitonium illovoense (Barnard, 1963) Epitonium immaculatum (Sowerby II, 1844) Epitonium imperiale (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844) Epitonium inaequale (Thiele, 1925) Epitonium indianorum (Carpenter, 1865) Epitonium indistinctum (G. B. Sowerby II, 1844) Epitonium inexpertum L. Brown & Weil, 1999 Epitonium ingridae Gittenberger, A., Goud & Gittenberger, E., 2000 Epitonium innesi (Jousseaume, 1912)