''Chicoreus rachelcarsonae'' is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
sea snail
Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...
, a marine
gastropod
The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda ().
This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...
mollusk
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Muricidae
Muricidae is a large and varied taxonomic family of small to large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks, commonly known as murex snails or rock snails. With about 1,600 living species, the Muricidae represent almost 10% of the Neogas ...
, the murex snails or rock snails.
Description
Original description: "Shell delicate, very frondose, with 3 varices per whorl; one large knob along shoulder between varices; varix with 5 spines;
spines often frondose; siphonal canal with 3 large spines; spine on shoulder largest; spire high and elevated; shell color pink or pale salmon-orange overlaid with numerous fine, pale tan spiral threads; spines often darker pinkish red or orange-red; protoconch and early whorls bright orange-red; siphonal canal completely closed."
Distribution
Locus typicus: "(Trawled from) 150 metres depth,
50 kilometres South of Apalachicola, Florida, USA."
[Petuch, E.J. 1987-''New Caribbean Molluscan Faunas'', page 13. Publ: CERF]
Habitat
This rare
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
species lives on coralline algal sea floors.
References
Gastropods described in 1987
Chicoreus
{{Muricinae-stub