''Murexsul octogonus'', or the octagonal murex, 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
The length of the shell attains 35.6 mm.
Distribution
This species is known only from
North Island
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
.
References
* Finlay, H.J. (1927). Additions to the recent molluscan fauna of New Zealand. No. 2. Transactions of the New Zealand Institute. 57: 485-487.
* Ponder, W. F. 1968. Nomenclatural notes on some New Zealand rachiglossan gastropods with descriptions of five new species. Records of the Dominion Museum, 6(4):29-47.
*
Powell A W B,
William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland 1979
* Glen Pownall, ''New Zealand Shells and Shellfish'', Seven Seas Publishing Pty Ltd, Wellington, New Zealand 1979
* Maxwell, P.A. (2009). Cenozoic Mollusca. Pp 232-254 in Gordon, D.P. (ed.) New Zealand inventory of biodiversity. Volume one. Kingdom Animalia: Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Deuterostomia. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch.
External links
Quoy J.R.C. & Gaimard J.P. (1832-1835). Voyage de découvertes de l'"Astrolabe" exécuté par ordre du Roi, pendant les années 1826-1829, sous le commandement de M. J. Dumont d'Urville. Zoologie Sowerby, G. B., II. (1841). Descriptions of some new species of Murex, principally from the collection of Hugh Cuming, Esq. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 8 ("1840"): 137-147Smith, M. (1940). Two new marine molluscs from Japan. The Nautilus. 54(2): 43, pl. 2Marshall, B. A.; Burch, K. W. (2000). The New Zealand Recent species of Muricopsis Bucquoy, Dautzenberg & Dollfus, 1882 (Gastropoda: Muricidae). The Nautilus. 114: 18-29MNHN, Paris: syntype
Murexsul
Gastropods described in 1833
{{Muricidae-stub