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
Type species
	Trochus modulus; Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms
	Aplodon Rafinesque, 1819; † Pseudotrochus Heilprin, 1886 ( junior homonym of Pseudotrochus Mörch, 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 duplicatus A. Adams, 1851
Modulus morleti P. Fischer, 1882
Modulus obliquus A. Adams, 1851
Modulus obtusatus (Philippi, 1847)

Species brought into synonymy

Modulus calusa Petuch, 1988: synonym of Trochomodulus calusa (Petuch, 1988) (original combination)
Modulus canaliculatus Mörch, 1876: synonym of Modulus modulus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Modulus candidus Petit 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 cidaris Reeve, 1848: synonym of Modulus tectum (Gmelin, 1791): synonym of Indomodulus tectum (Gmelin, 1791)
Modulus convexior Mörch, 1876: synonym of Modulus modulus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Modulus dorsuosus Gould, 1853: synonym of Modulus disculus (Philippi, 1846)
Modulus krebsii Mörch, 1876: synonym of Modulus modulus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Modulus lenticularis (Lamarck, 1822): synonym of Modulus modulus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Modulus lindae Petuch, 1987: synonym of Conomodulus lindae (Petuch, 1987) (superseded combination)
Modulus obliquatus [sic]: synonym of Modulus obliquus A. Adams, 1851 (misspelling - incorrect original spelling)
Modulus perlatus (Gmelin, 1791): synonym of Modulus modulus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Modulus pisum Mörch, 1876: synonym of Modulus modulus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Modulus tectum (Gmelin, 1791): synonym of Indomodulus tectum (Gmelin, 1791)
Modulus trochiformis Souleyet, 1852: synonym of Trochomodulus catenulatus (Philippi, 1849)
Modulus unidens (A. d'Orbigny, 1842): synonym of Modulus modulus (Linnaeus, 1758) (junior subjective synonym)

References

^ Gray J. E. (1840). Syn. Cont. Brit. Mus., ed. 42, 147 [n.n.]; 1842, Syn. Brit. Mus., ed. 44, 60.
^ ^a ^b "Modulus". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
^ Bouchet, P. & Rocroi, J.-P. (2005). "Classification and Nomenclator of Gastropod Families". Malacologia. 47 (1–2).
^ 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

[1] Gray J. E. (1840). Syn. Cont. Brit. Mus., ed. 42, 147 [n.n.]; 1842, Syn. Brit. Mus., ed. 44, 60.

[worms-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.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]