''Murex'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of medium to large sized
predatory
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...
tropical
sea snails. These are
carnivorous marine gastropod molluscs in the family
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 Neoga ...
, commonly called "murexes" or "rock snails".
[Houart, R.; Gofas, S. (2010). Murex Linnaeus, 1758. 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=138196 on 2011-04-09]
The common name murex is still used for many species in the family
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 Neoga ...
which were originally given the Latin generic name ''Murex'' in the past, but have more recently been regrouped into different newer genera.
The word ''murex'' was used by
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...
in reference to these kinds of snails, thus making it one of the oldest classical seashell names still in use by the scientific community.
Fossil records
This genus is known in the fossil records from the
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
to the
Quaternary (age range: from 125.45 to 0.0 million years ago). Fossils of species within this genus have been found all over the world. There are about 25 known extinct species.
[Fossilworks]
/ref>
Distribution
''Murex'' is solely an Indo-Pacific genus, as demonstrated by Ponder & Vokes (1988). The species from the western Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
that were formerly considered to belong to the genus ''Murex'' are now placed in the genus ''Haustellum
''Haustellum'' is a genus of medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails. Like many other genera within the Muricidae, the genus has been redefined several times.
Ponder & Vokes (19 ...
''.
Habitat
Most ''Murex'' species live in the intertidal
The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species ...
or shallow subtidal zone, among rocks and corals.
Shell description
This genus includes many showy members, their elongate shells highly sculptured
Sculptured is an American experimental and progressive metal band, mixing melodic and atonal segments.
Biography
Following the dissolution of his previous band, guitarist Don Anderson began Sculptured as mostly a one-man project in 1996. With ...
with spines or fronds. The inner surfaces of their ornate shells are often brightly colored.
Human use
Costly and labor-intensive dyes Tyrian purple
Tyrian purple ( grc, πορφύρα ''porphúra''; la, purpura), also known as Phoenician red, Phoenician purple, royal purple, imperial purple, or imperial dye, is a reddish-purple natural dye. The name Tyrian refers to Tyre, Lebanon. It i ...
(or royal purple) and tekhelet
''Tekhelet'' ( he, תְּכֵלֶת ''təḵēleṯ''; alternate spellings include ''tekheleth'', ''t'chelet'', ''techelet'' and ''techeiles'') is a "blue-violet", "blue", or "turquoise" dye highly prized by ancient Mediterranean civilizations. I ...
were historically made by the ancient Phoenicians
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
and Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
respectively, using mucus from the hypobranchial gland The hypobranchial gland is a glandular structure which is part of the anatomy of many mollusks, including several different families of gastropods, and also many protobranch bivalves. This gland produces mucus as well as biologically active compo ...
of two species commonly referred to as "murex", ''Murex brandaris'' and ''Murex trunculus'', which are the older names for '' Haustellum brandaris'' ('' Bolinus brandaris'') and ''Hexaplex trunculus
''Hexaplex trunculus'' (previously known as ''Murex trunculus'', ''Phyllonotus trunculus'', or the banded dye-murex) is a medium-sized sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex shells or rock snails. It is included ...
'' (''Phyllonatus trunculus''). This dye is a rare animal-produced organobromine compound
Organobromine compounds, also called organobromides, are organic compounds that contain carbon
Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons avai ...
, which the snails make using a specific bromoperoxidase
Bromide peroxidase (, ''bromoperoxidase'', ''haloperoxidase (ambiguous)'', ''eosinophil peroxidase'') is a family of enzymes with systematic name ''bromide:hydrogen-peroxide oxidoreductase''. These enzymes catalyses the following chemical reacti ...
enzyme that operates on dissolved bromide
A bromide ion is the negatively charged form (Br−) of the element bromine, a member of the halogens group on the periodic table. Most bromides are colorless. Bromides have many practical roles, being found in anticonvulsants, flame-retardant ...
in sea water.
This dye was used in royal
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a ...
robes, other kinds of special ceremonial
A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion.
The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''.
Church and civil (secular ...
or ritual garments, or garments indicating high rank
Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as:
Level or position in a hierarchical organization
* Academic rank
* Diplomatic rank
* Hierarchy
* ...
. It is hypothesised that the dye was the same dye as that which featured prominently in the ancient Temple in Jerusalem, the clothing of the High Priest (or Kohen Gadol
High Priest ( he, כהן גדול, translit=Kohen Gadol or ; ) was the title of the chief religious official of Judaism from the early post- Exilic times until the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE. Previousl ...
) officiating there; it is sometimes still used by Jews today in the ritual fringes (tzitzit
''Tzitzit'' ( he, ''ṣīṣīṯ'', ; plural ''ṣīṣiyyōṯ'', Ashkenazi: '; and Samaritan: ') are specially knotted ritual fringes, or tassels, worn in antiquity by Israelites and today by observant Jews and Samaritans. are usuall ...
) on four-cornered garments. A consensus has yet to be reached regarding the Biblical source of the "blue" dye.
Species
The genus ''Murex'', as originally defined by Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
, encompassed many taxa that are now placed elsewhere in the superfamily Muricoidea
Neogastropoda is an order of sea snails, both freshwater and marine gastropod molluscs.
Description
The available fossil record of Neogastropoda is relatively complete, and supports a widely accepted evolutionary scenario of an Early Cr ...
. During the 19th century, the definition of ''Murex'' was restricted by Lamarck
Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de Lamarck (1 August 1744 – 18 December 1829), often known simply as Lamarck (; ), was a French naturalist, biologist, academic, and soldier. He was an early proponent of the idea that biolo ...
and his contemporaries first to species in the family Muricidae, and then was limited even further to the subfamilies Muricinae and Ocenebrinae. Malacologists of the 19th century including Kiener, Reeve, Küster & Kobelt and Sowerby treated all muricoid forms as belonging to ''Murex''. This is the main reason why ''Murex'' has so many synonyms.
The World Register of Marine Species
The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms.
Content
The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific specialis ...
(WoRMS), lists the following species with accepted names within the genus ''Murex''. The subgenera are considered alternate representations.
* '' Murex acanthostephes'' Watson, 1883
* '' Murex aduncospinosus'' G.B. Sowerby II, 1841:
* '' Murex africanus'' Ponder & Vokes, 1988
* '' Murex altispira'' Ponder & Vokes, 1988 Caltrop murex
* '' Murex antelmei'' Viader, 1938
* '' Murex brevispina'' Lamarck, 1822 Short-spined murex
* '' Murex carbonnieri'' (Jousseaume, 1881) Carbonnier's murex
* '' Murex concinnus'' Reeve, 1845
* '' Murex coppingeri'' E. A. Smith, 1884
* '' Murex djarianensis'' Martin, 1895
** '' Murex djarianensis poppei'' (synonym : ''Murex (Murex) poppei'' Houart, 1979)
* '' Murex echinoides'' Houart, 2011
* '' Murex falsitribulus'' Ponder & Vokes, 1988
* '' Murex forskoehlio'' Röding, 1798
* '' Murex huangi'' Houart, 2010
* '' Murex hystricosus'' Houart & Dharma, 2001
* '' Murex indicus'' Houart, 2011
* '' Murex kerslakae'' Ponder & Vokes, 1988
* '' Murex megapex'' Neubert, 1998
* † ''Murex noae
''Murex'' is a genus of medium to large sized predatory tropical sea snails. These are carnivorous marine gastropod molluscs in the family Muricidae, commonly called "murexes" or "rock snails".Houart, R.; Gofas, S. (2010). Murex Linnaeus, ...
'' Holten, 1802
* '' Murex occa'' G.B. Sowerby II, 1834 Harrowed murex
* '' Murex pecten'' Lightfoot, 1786 ': Venus comb murex
The Venus comb murex, scientific name ''Murex pecten'', is a species of large predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the rock snails or murex snails.
The shell of this Indo-Pacific species has a very long siph ...
** '' Murex pecten soelae''
* '' Murex philippinensis'' Parth, 1994
* '' Murex protocrassus'' Houart, 1990
* '' Murex queenslandicus'' Ponder & Vokes, 1988
* '' Murex salomonensis'' Parth, 1994
* '' Murex scolopax'' Dillwyn, 1817 False venus comb, woodcock murex
* '' Murex somalicus'' Parth, 1990
* '' Murex spectabilis'' Ponder & Vokes, 1988
* '' Murex spicatus'' Ponder & Vokes, 1988
* '' Murex spinastreptos'' Houart, 2010
* '' Murex surinamensis'' Okutani, 1982
* '' Murex tenuirostrum'' Lamarck, 1822
* '' Murex ternispina'' Lamarck, 1822
* ''Murex trapa
''Murex trapa'', common name the rare-spined murex, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc of the family Muricidae
Muricidae is a large and varied taxonomic family of small to large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod moll ...
'' Roding, 1798 Rare-spined murex
* '' Murex tribulus'' Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
, 1758, 1758: Caltrop murex
** '' Murex tribulus spicatus''
** '' Murex tribulus tenuirostrum''
** '' Murex tribulus tenuirostrum africanus''
** '' Murex tribulus ternispina''
* '' Murex troscheli'' Lischke, 1868 Troschel's murex
;Species mentioned as species in current use in the Indo-Pacific Molluscan Database (OBIS) :
* '' Murex singaporensis'' A.Adams, 1853
;Species brought into synonymy :
* ''Murex aedonius'' Watson, 1896: synonym of '' Coralliophila aedonia'' (Watson, 1885)
* ''Murex afer'' Gmelin, 1791: synonym of '' Afer afer'' (Gmelin, 1791)
* ''Murex alocatus'': synonym of '' Pterymarchia barclayana'' (H. Adams, 1873)
* ''Murex antillarum'' : Antilles murex: synonym of '' Siratus articulatus'' (Reeve, 1845)
* ''Murex argo'' Clench & Farfante, 1945: synonym of '' Chicoreus (Triplex) spectrum'' (Reeve, 1846)
* ''Murex belcheri'' Hinds, 1843 : synonym of '' Forreria belcheri'' (Hinds, 1843)
* ''Murex bellus'' Reeve, 1845: synonym of '' Vokesimurex bellus'' (Reeve, 1845)
* ''Murex blakeanus'' Vokes, 1967: synonym of '' Vokesimurex blakeanus'' (Vokes, 1967)
* ''Murex brandaris'' Linnaeus, 1758: synonym of '' Bolinus brandaris'' (Linnaeus, 1758)
* ''Murex canaliculatus'' Linnaeus, 1758: synonym of '' Busycotypus canaliculatus'' (Linnaeus, 1758)
* ''Murex capitellum'' Linnaeus, 1758: synonym of '' Vasum capitellum'' (Linnaeus, 1758)
* ''Murex corallinus'' Scacchi, 1836: synonym of '' Ocinebrina aciculata'' (Lamarck, 1822)
* ''Murex corneus'' Linnaeus, 1758: synonym of '' Euthria cornea'' (Linnaeus, 1758)
* ''Murex coronatus'' Born, 1778: synonym of '' Pseudovertagus aluco'' (Linnaeus, 1758)
* ''Murex edwardsii'': synonym of '' Ocinebrina edwardsii'' (Payraudeau, 1826)
* ''Murex garciai'' Petuch, 1987: synonym of '' Vokesimurex garciai'' (Petuch, 1987)
* ''Murex gubbi'' Reeve, 1849: synonym of '' Chicocenebra gubbi'' (Reeve, 1849)
* ''Murex inconspicuus'' G.B. Sowerby II, 1841: synonym of '' Ocinebrina aciculata'' (Lamarck, 1822)
* ''Murex intertextus'' Helbling, 1779: synonym of'' Cumia reticulata''
* ''Murex jickelii'' Tapparone Canefri, 1875: synonym of '' Naquetia jickelii'' (Tapparone Canefri, 1875)
* ''Murex lindajoycae'' Petuch, 1987: synonym of '' Vokesimurex lindajoycae'' (Petuch, 1987)
* ''Murex longicornis'' Dunker, 1864: synonym of '' Chicoreus longicornis'' (Dunker, 1864)
* ''Murex maroccensis'' Gmelin, 1791: synonym of Fusinus maroccensis
* ''Murex monodon'' Sowerby, 1825: synonym of '' Chicoreus (Chicoreus) cornucervi'' (Röding, 1798)
* ''Murex nassa'' Gmelin, 1791: synonym of '' Leucozonia nassa'' (Gmelin, 1791)
* ''Murex nebula'' Montagu, 1803: synonym of '' Bela nebula'' (Montagu, 1803)
* ''Murex peritus'' Hinds, 1844a: synonym of '' Favartia (Favartia) perita'' (Hinds, 1844)
* ''Murex pistacia'' Reeve, 1845: synonym of '' Ocinebrina aciculata'' (Lamarck, 1822)
* ''Murex purpuroides'' Dunker: synonym of '' Vaughtia purpuroides'' (Reeve, 1845)
* ''Murex recurvirostris'': synonym of '' Vokesimurex recurvirostrum'' (Broderip, 1833)
* ''Murex rota'' Sowerby: synonym of '' Homalocantha anatomica'' (Perry, 1811)
* ''Murex rubidus'': synonym of '' Vokesimurex rubidus'' (F.C. Baker, 1897)
* ''Murex serratospinosus'' Dunker, 1883: synonym of '' Vokesimurex mindanaoensis'' (G.B. Sowerby II, 1841)
* ''Murex subaciculatus'' Locard, 1886: synonym of '' Ocinebrina aciculata'' (Lamarck, 1822)
* ''Murex taxus'' Dillwyn, 1817: synonym of '' Clavatula taxea'' (Röding, 1798)
* † ''Murex textilis'' Brocchi, 1814: synonym of † '' Rimosodaphnella textilis'' (Brocchi, 1814)
* ''Murex triqueter'': synonym of'' Naquetia triqueter'' (Born, 1778)
* ''Murex tulipa'' Linnaeus, 1758: synonym of ''Fasciolaria tulipa
''Fasciolaria tulipa'', common name the true tulip, is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Fasciolariidae.
Distribution
This species occurs from the North Carolina coast all the way south and west to the Gul ...
'' (Linnaeus, 1758)
* ''Murex turbinellus'' Linnaeus, 1758: synonym of '' Vasum turbinellus'' (Linnaeus, 1758)
* ''Murex vittatus'' Broderip, 1833: synonym of '' Favartia (Favartia) vittata'' (Broderip, 1833)
References
* Merle, D., Garrigues, B. & Pointier, J.-P. 2011. Fossil and Recent Muricidae of the World, Part Muricinae. 648 pp., 182 colour plates, Hackenheim. .
* Ponder, W.F. & E.H. Vokes. 1988. A revision of the Indo-West Pacific fossil and Recent species of Murex s.s. and Haustellum (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Muricidae). ''Records of the Australian Museum'', Supplement 8. 160 pp.
External links
Aristotle, 350 B.C.E. ''A history of animals''
{{taxonbar, from=Q311512
Muricidae
Extant Cretaceous first appearances
Gastropod genera
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus