Modulus (gastropod)

Modulus
Shell of Modulus turbinoides (holotype at MNHN, Paris)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Superfamily:	Cerithioidea
Family:	Modulidae
Genus:	Modulus Gray, 1840 [1]
Type species
Trochus modulus Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms [2]
AplodonRafinesque, 1819 † PseudotrochusHeilprin, 1886 ( junior homonym of PseudotrochusMörch, 1852 [Achatinidae])

Modulus is a genus of small sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Modulidae. ^[3]

Characteristics

(Described as Pseudotrochus) The shell is turbinate and umbilicate, bearing a general resemblance to members of the family Turbinidae or allied groups. However, it differs significantly in the siphonate nature of its aperture. The aperture is round, with the outer lip continuous except at the base, which is truncated by a sharply and obliquely deflected short siphonal canal. ^[4]

Species

Species within the genus Modulus include: ^[2]

• Modulus ambiguus Dautzenberg, 1910
• Modulus bayeri Petuch, 2001
• Modulus bermontianus Petuch, 1994
• Modulus cerodes A. Adams, 1851
• Modulus danielsi Petuch & Berschauer, 2023
• Modulus disculus (Philippi, 1846)
• Modulus floridanus Conrad, 1869
• Modulus guernei Dautzenberg, 1900
• Modulus hennequini Petuch, 2013
• Modulus honkerorum Petuch, 2013
• Modulus hunahpu Petuch & Berschauer, 2023
• Modulus kaicherae Petuch, 1987
• Modulus modulus ( Linnaeus, 1758) - the type species, known as the "button snail"
• Modulus nodosus Macsotay & Campos, 2001
• Modulus pacei Petuch, 1987
• Modulus turbinoides (Locard, 1897)

Taxa inquirenda

• Modulus duplicatusA. Adams, 1851
• Modulus morletiP. Fischer, 1882
• Modulus obliquusA. Adams, 1851
• Modulus obtusatus(Philippi, 1847)

Species brought into synonymy

• Modulus calusaPetuch, 1988: synonym of Trochomodulus calusa (Petuch, 1988) (original combination)
• Modulus canaliculatusMörch, 1876: synonym of Modulus modulus(Linnaeus, 1758)
• Modulus candidusPetit de la Saussaye, 1853: synonym of Indomodulus tectum (Gmelin, 1791)
• Modulus carchedonius(Lamarck, 1822): synonym of Trochomodulus carchedonius (Lamarck, 1822)
• Modulus catenulatus(Philippi, 1849): synonym of Trochomodulus catenulatus (Philippi, 1849)
• Modulus cidarisReeve, 1848: synonym of Modulus tectum(Gmelin, 1791): synonym of Indomodulus tectum (Gmelin, 1791)
• Modulus convexiorMörch, 1876: synonym of Modulus modulus(Linnaeus, 1758)
• Modulus dorsuosusGould, 1853: synonym of Modulus disculus(Philippi, 1846)
• Modulus krebsiiMörch, 1876: synonym of Modulus modulus(Linnaeus, 1758)
• Modulus lenticularis(Lamarck, 1822): synonym of Modulus modulus(Linnaeus, 1758)
• Modulus lindaePetuch, 1987: synonym of Conomodulus lindae (Petuch, 1987) (superseded combination)
• Modulus obliquatus [sic]: synonym of Modulus obliquusA. Adams, 1851 (misspelling - incorrect original spelling)
• Modulus perlatus(Gmelin, 1791): synonym of Modulus modulus(Linnaeus, 1758)
• Modulus pisumMörch, 1876: synonym of Modulus modulus(Linnaeus, 1758)
• Modulus tectum(Gmelin, 1791): synonym of Indomodulus tectum (Gmelin, 1791)
• Modulus trochiformisSouleyet, 1852: synonym of Trochomodulus catenulatus (Philippi, 1849)
• Modulus unidens(A. d'Orbigny, 1842): synonym of Modulus modulus(Linnaeus, 1758) (junior subjective synonym)

References

1. Gray J. E. (1840). Syn. Cont. Brit. Mus., ed. 42, 147 [n.n.]; 1842, Syn. Brit. Mus., ed. 44, 60.
2. "Modulus". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 9 August 2021.
3. Bouchet, P. & Rocroi, J.-P. (2005). "Classification and Nomenclator of Gastropod Families". Malacologia. 47 (1–2).
4. Heilprin, A. (1886–1887). "Explorations on the West Coast of Florida and in the Okeechobee Wilderness; with special reference to the geology and zoology of the Floridian Peninsula. vii + 134 pp". Transactions of the Wagner Free Institute of Science, Philadelphia. 1: 114. Retrieved 16 September 2025. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .

• Landau B., Vermeij G. K. & Reich S. (2014). Classification of the Modulidae (Caenogastropoda, Cerithioidea), with new genera and new fossil species from the Neogene of tropical America and Indonesia. Basteria. 78(1-3): 1-29

External links

• Gray, J. E. (1842). Molluscs. Pp. 48-92, in: Synopsis of the contents of the British Museum, edition 44. British Museum. London. iv + 308 p
• Rafinesque C.S. (1819). Prodrome. De 70 nouveaux genres d'animaux découverts dans l'intérieur des Etats-Unis d'Amérique, durant l'année 1818. Journal de Physique, de Chimie, d'Histoire Naturelle et des Arts. 88: 417-429.