Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

Phyllocoma scalariformis (Broderip, 1833)

filocoma escalera, Staircase phyllocoma

Length: 50 mm.

Shallow water (less than 200 m depth), intertidal and subtidal.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Mollusca

Class
Gastropoda

Order
Neogastropoda

Superfamily
Muricoidea

Family
Muricidae

Genus
Phyllocoma

Species
scalariformis

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn.: Phyllocoma (Phyllocoma) scalariformis (Broderip, 1833), Triton scalariformis Broderip, 1833 (Horton et al., 2021) Note: AMNH: 163261, 163361, CDRS: 780. Syn.: Triton scalariformis Broderip, 1833 (basionym), fide Appeeltans et al. (2010)

Origin: Native

Status

IUCN Red List Category: Not evaluated

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

Distribution: Mexico (Guaymas) to Colombia and Ecuador (Galapagos Islands)

References

  • Appeltans, W. Bouchet, P., Boxshall, G.A., Fauchald, K., Gordon, D.P., Hoeksema, B.W., Poore, G.C.B., van Soest, R.W.M., Stöhr, S., Walter, T.C., Costello, M.J. (eds.) (2010) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Available online at http://www.marinespecies.org.
  • Finet, Y. (1991) The Marine Mollusks of the Galapagos Islands. In: Galápagos Marine Invertebrate. Taxonomy, Biogeography, and Evolution in Darwin's Islands. Plenum Press. New York and London, p. 253-280.
  • Finet, Y. (2001) The marine mollusks of the Galapagos Islands: a documented faunal list. Editions du Muséum d' Histoire naturelle, Genève, 237 pp.
  • Hickman, C.P. Jr. Finet, Y. (1999) A Field Guide to the Marine Molluscs of Galápagos. Sugar Spring Press, Lexington, Virginia, 150 pp.
  • Horton, T. Horton, T., Kroh, A., Ahyong, S., Bailly, N., Boyko, C. B., Brandão, S. N., Gofas, S., Hooper, J. N. A., Hernandez, F., Holovachov, O., Mees, J., Molodtsova, T. N., Paulay, G., Decock, W., Dekeyzer, S., Poffyn, G., Vandepitte, L., Vanhoorne, B., Adlard, R., ... Zhao, Z. (2021) World Register of Marine Species. Available from https://www.marinespecies.org at VLIZ.
  • Kay, E.A. (1991) The Marine Mollusks of the Galapagos. Determinants of insular marine Faunas. In: James, M.J. (ed.): Galápagos Marine Invertebrate. Taxonomy, Biogeography, and Evolution in Darwin's Islands. Plenum Press. New York and London, p. 235-252.
  • Keen, A.M. (1958) Sea Shells of Tropical West America. Stanford University Press, Palo Alto, 1st edition, 624 pp.

You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.

This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Phyllocoma scalariformis", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=8129. Accessed 4 June 2026.