''Plicopurpura patula'' 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 ...

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

Distribution

The widemouth rockshell or wide-mouthed purpura is a tropical Western Atlantic species. Its biogeographical distribution range extends along the Atlantic coast of America from Florida to Trinidade, and includes the Caribbean Sea. Individuals are found in the intertidal splash zones on hard rocky shorelines facing regular wave action. Sporadically, the species may occur in the NE Atlantic, where it was first recorded in 2012 in the Atlantic coast of North Spain. However, currently there are no evidences that the widemouth rockshell forms stable populations in the NE Atlantic.Sánchez, O., López, R., Borrell, Y. J. & Arias, A. (2021). First record of Plicopurpura patula (Gastropoda: Muricidae) in European waters: new evidence to the 'tropicalization' of the Bay of Biscay or human assisted arrival? In: Arias, A., Ríos, P., Paxton, H., Sánchez, O., Acuña, J. L., Álvarez, A., Manjón-Cabeza, M. E. & Cristobo, J. (eds) "Proceedings of the XVII International Symposium on Oceanography of the Bay of Biscay (ISOBAY 17)". University of Oviedo, Oviedo 2021, ISBN 978-84-18482-20-5, p. 123.

References

Plicopurpura Gastropods described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Rapaninae-stub