Muricidae is a large and varied
taxonomic
Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification.
A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...
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 ...
of small to large
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 ...
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 ...
s,
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 ...
s,
commonly known as murex snails or rock snails. With about 1,600 living
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 ...
, the Muricidae represent almost 10% of the
Neogastropoda
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 Creta ...
. Additionally, 1,200 fossil species have been recognized.
[Merle, D., Garrigues, B. & Pointier, J.-P. (2011). ''Fossil and Recent Muricidae of the World, Part Muricinae''. 648 pp., 182 colour plates, ConchBooks, Hackenheim. .] Numerous subfamilies are recognized, although experts disagree about the subfamily divisions and the definitions of the genera.
Many muricids have unusual shells which are considered attractive by
shell
Shell may refer to:
Architecture and design
* Shell (structure), a thin structure
** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses
** Thin-shell structure
Science Biology
* Seashell, a hard o ...
collectors and by interior designers.
Shell description
Muricid shells are variably shaped, generally with a raised
spire
A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...
and strong sculpture with spiral ridges and often axial
varices
A varix (pl. varices) is an abnormally dilated vessel with a tortuous course. Varices usually occur in the venous system, but may also occur in arterial or lymphatic vessels.
Examples of varices include:
* Varicose veins, large tortuous veins usua ...
(typically three or more varices on each
whorl
A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs).
Whorls in nature
File:Photograph and axial plane floral ...
), also frequently bearing spines, tubercles, or blade-like processes.
Periostracum is absent in this family. The
aperture
In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane.
An opt ...
is variable in shape; it may be ovate to more or less contracted, with a well-marked anterior
siphonal canal that may be very long. The shell's outer lip is often denticulated inside, sometimes with a tooth-like process on its margin. The
columella
Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (; Arabic: , 4 – ) was a prominent writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire.
His ' in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture, together with the wo ...
is smoothish to weakly ridged. The
operculum is corneous and of variable thickness, with the nucleus near the anterior end or at about midlength of the outer margin.
Many muricids have episodic growth, which means their shells grow in spurts, remaining the same size for a while (during which time the
varix
A varix (pl. varices) is an abnormally dilated vessel with a tortuous course. Varices usually occur in the venous system, but may also occur in arterial or lymphatic vessels.
Examples of varices include:
* Varicose veins, large tortuous veins usua ...
develops) before rapidly growing to the next size stage. The result is the series of above mentioned varices on each whorl.
Life habits
Most species of muricids are
carnivorous
A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...
, active predators that feed on other gastropods,
bivalve
Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...
s, and
barnacles. The access to the soft parts of the prey is typically obtained by boring a hole through the shell by means of a softening secretion and the scraping action of the radula. Because of their carnivory, some species may be considered pests because they can cause considerable destruction both in exploited natural beds of bivalves, and in farmed areas of commercial bivalves.
Muricids lay eggs in protective, corneous capsules, the size and shape of which vary by species. From these capsules the crawling juveniles, or more rarely planktonic larvae, hatch.
Historical value
Members of the family were harvested by early
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
peoples, with the
Phoenicians
Phoenicia () was an ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient thalassocracy, thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-st ...
possibly the first to do so, to extract an expensive, vivid, stable dye known as
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 is ...
, imperial purple, or royal purple.
The fossil record
The family Muricidae first appears in the
fossil record
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in ...
during the
Aptian
The Aptian is an age in the geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early or Lower Cretaceous Epoch or Series and encompasses the time from 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma to 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma (million years ago), a ...
age of the
Cretaceous period
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 t ...
.
Subfamilies
![Hexaplex trunculus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Hexaplex_trunculus.jpg)
According to the
taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi (2005) the family Muricidae consists of these subfamilies:
*
Aspellinae
Aspellinae is a taxonomic subfamily of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks within the large family Muricidae, the murex snails and rock snails. MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Aspellinae Keen, 1971. Accessed through: Worl ...
Keen, 1971
*
Coralliophilinae
Coralliophilinae is a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic group, a family (biology), subfamily of about 200–250 sea snails, marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusks commonly known as the coral snails or coral shells. This is a subfamily within the ve ...
Chenu, 1859 - synonym: Magilidae
Thiele, 1925
*
Ergalataxinae
Ergalataxinae is a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic subfamily of small to medium-sized predatory sea snails, marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusks within the family Muricidae, the rock snails.
In this subfamily, the aragonite, aragonitic gastrop ...
Kuroda, Habe & Oyama, 1971
*
Haustrinae Tan, 2003
*
Muricinae
Muricinae is a taxonomic subfamily of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks within the large family Muricidae, the murex snails and rock snails.
The Muricinae represent approximately 780 valid names of fossil (378) and recent (400 ...
Rafinesque
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (; October 22, 1783September 18, 1840) was a French 19th-century polymath born near Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire and self-educated in France. He traveled as a young man in the United States, ultimat ...
, 1815
*
Muricopsinae
Muricopsinae is a taxonomic subfamily of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks within the large family Muricidae, the murex snails and rock snails.Houart, R. (2010). Muricopsinae. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) Wo ...
Radwin & d'Attilio, 1971
*
Ocenebrinae
Ocenebrinae is a taxonomic subfamily of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks. This subfamily is within the large family Muricidae, which are commonly known as the murex and rock snails.
In one other version of current gastropod taxon ...
Cossmann Cossmann is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Bernhard Cossmann (1822–1910), German cellist
*Maurice Cossmann (1850–1924), French paleontologist and malacologist
*Paul Nikolaus Cossmann
Paul Nikolaus Cossmann (6 Apri ...
, 1903
*
Pagodulinae Barco, Schiaparelli, Houart & Oliverio, 2012
*
Rapaninae
Rapaninae is a subfamily of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Muricidae.Houart, R. (2011). Rapaninae. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1962 ...
Gray, 1853 - synonym: Thaididae
Jousseaume, 1888
*
Tripterotyphinae d'Attilio & Hertz, 1988
*
Trophoninae Cossmann Cossmann is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Bernhard Cossmann (1822–1910), German cellist
*Maurice Cossmann (1850–1924), French paleontologist and malacologist
*Paul Nikolaus Cossmann
Paul Nikolaus Cossmann (6 Apri ...
, 1903
*
Typhinae
Typhinae is a subfamily in the family Muricidae.MolluscaBase (2019). MolluscaBase. Typhinae Cossmann, 1903. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=391512 on 2019-11-07
Gene ...
Cossmann Cossmann is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Bernhard Cossmann (1822–1910), German cellist
*Maurice Cossmann (1850–1924), French paleontologist and malacologist
*Paul Nikolaus Cossmann
Paul Nikolaus Cossmann (6 Apri ...
, 1903
;Synonyms:
*Subfamily Drupinae
Wenz, 1938: synonym of
Rapaninae
Rapaninae is a subfamily of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Muricidae.Houart, R. (2011). Rapaninae. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1962 ...
Gray, 1853
*Genus Drupinia
ic synonym of ''
Drupina''
Dall, 1923
*Genus Galeropsis
Hupé, 1860: synonym of ''
Coralliophila
''Coralliophila'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Coralliophilinae
Coralliophilinae is a taxonomic group, a subfamily of about 200–250 sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks commonly known as the coral ...
''
H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853
* Tritoninae
Gray, 1847: synonym of Ranellidae
Gray, 1854 (Invalid: type genus placed on the Official Index by Opinion 886
unior homonym of Triton Linnaeus, 1758
Image:Babelomurex nagahorii 01.JPG, '' Babelomurex nagahorii''
Image:Bolinus cornutus 01.jpg, ''Bolinus cornutus
''Bolinus cornutus'', or horned murex, is a predatory species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex or rock snails. This species is common along the west coast of Africa, where it prefers moderately shallo ...
''
Image:Chicomurex venustulus 01.JPG, ''Chicomurex venustulus
''Chicomurex venustulus'', common name the charming murex, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.
Description
The size of an adult shell varies between 40 mm and 7 ...
''
Image:Chicoreus aculeatus 01.JPG, ''Chicoreus aculeatus
''Chicoreus aculeatus'', common name the pendant murex, is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.Houart, R. (2011). Chicoreus aculeatus (Lamarck, 1822). Accesse ...
''
Image:Coralliophila fearnleyi 01.JPG, ''Coralliophila fearnleyi
''Coralliophila fearnleyi'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.
Description
The length of shell varies between 33 mm and 67 mm.
Distribution
This marine spe ...
''
Image:Drupa morum morum 01.JPG, '' Drupa morum''
Image:Drupella cornus 01.JPG, '' Drupella cornus''
Image:Hadriania trunculata 02.JPG, '' Hadriania trunculata''
Image:Haustellum haustellum 01.JPG, ''Haustellum haustellum
''Haustellum haustellum'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails. It is the type species of the genus ''Haustellum'' Schumacher, 1817.
Description
Distribution
''Hau ...
''
Image:Hexaplex radix 01.jpg, ''Hexaplex radix
''Muricanthus radix'', the radix murex or root murex, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Muricanthus radix (Gmelin, 1791). Acces ...
''
Image:Homalocantha zamboi.JPG, ''Homalocantha zamboi
''Homalocantha zamboi'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk 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 ...
''
Image:Indothais malayensis 01.JPG, '' Indothais malayensis''
Image:Lataxiena fimbriata 01.JPG, ''Lataxiena fimbriata
''Lataxiena fimbriata'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.
Description
Distribution
The type species was found in the Makassar Strait
Makassar Strait is a str ...
''
Image:Latiaxis mawae 01.JPG, '' Latiaxis mawae''
Image:Morula biconica 01.JPG, '' Morula biconica''
Image:Murex pecten 001.JPG, ''Murex pecten
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 ...
''
Image:Nucella lapillus 01.JPG, ''Nucella lapillus
The dog whelk, dogwhelk, or Atlantic dogwinkle (''Nucella lapillus'') is a species of predatory sea snail, a carnivorous marine gastropod in the family Muricidae, the rock snails.
''Nucella lapillus'' was originally described by Carl Linnaeus ...
''
Image:Ocenebra erinaceus fossil 01.jpg, '' Ocenebra erinacea''
Image:Orania pacifica 01.JPG, '' Orania pacifica''
Image:Phyllonotus evergladensis 01.JPG, ''Phyllonotus evergladensis
''Phyllonotus'' is a genus of medium to large sized predatory sea snails. These are carnivorous marine gastropod molluscs in the family Muricidae, the murexes or rock snails.Bouchet, P.; Houart, R. (2010). Phyllonotus Swainson, 1833 . In: Bo ...
''
Image:Pteropurpura festiva 01.JPG, ''Pteropurpura festiva
''Pteropurpura festiva'', common name, commonly known as the festive murex, is a species of predation, predatory sea snail, a marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the rock snails. Native to the Eastern Pacific, these ...
''
Image:Rapa rapa 01.JPG, ''Rapa rapa
''Rapa rapa'', common name the bubble turnip, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family (biology), family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.
Description
Rapa rapa was first described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus ...
''
Image:Rapana bezoar 01.JPG, ''Rapana bezoar
''Rapana bezoar'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.
Description
Distribution
References
bezoar
A bezoar is a mass often found trapped in the gastrointesti ...
''
Image:Rapana venosa 01.JPG, ''Rapana venosa
''Rapana venosa'', common name the veined rapa whelk or Asian rapa whelk, is a species of large predatory sea snail, a marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusc or whelk, in the family Muricidae, the rock shells.
This large sea snail has become an ...
''
Image:Reishia bronni 01.JPG, '' Reishia bronni''
Image:Siratus alabaster 01.jpg, '' Siratus alabaster''
Image:Spinucella tetragona 01.JPG, '' Spinucella tetragona''
Image:Stramonita haemastoma 01.JPG, ''Stramonita haemastoma
''Stramonita haemastoma'', common name the red-mouthed rock shell or the Florida dog winkle, is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Muricidae, the rock snails.
Subspecies
''Stramonita haemastoma'' contains ...
''
Image:Vokesimurex gallinago gallinago 01.JPG, '' Vokesimurex gallinago''
References
*Houart, R. (1994). ''Illustrated Catalogue of Recent Species of Muricidae named since 1971''. 181 pp.
ncl. 28 pls. Verlag Christa Hemmen, Wiesbaden. .
*Poutiers, J. M. (1998). Gastropods in: ''FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes: The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific Volume 1. Seaweeds, corals, bivalves and gastropods.'' Rome: FAO. page 553.
*Rosenberg, Gary (1992) ''The Encyclopedia of Seashells''. New York: Dorset Press.
*Vaught, K.C. (1989) ''A Classification of the Living Mollusca''. American Malacologists, Inc., Melbourne, Florida.
External links
CAAB listing for family MuricidaeGeorge E.Radwin and Anthony D'Attilio: The Murex shells of the World Stanford University press, 1976,
* Pappalardo P., Rodríguez-Serrano E. & Fernández M. (2014). "Correlated Evolution between Mode of Larval Development and Habitat in Muricid Gastropods". ''
PLoS ONE'' 9(4): e94104.
Miocene Gastropods and Biostratigraphy of the Kern River Area, California; United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 642
{{Authority control
Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque