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Murex is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of medium to large sized predatory tropical sea snail
Snail

The word snail is a common name for almost all members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled animal shells in the adult stage. When the word snail is used in a general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails....
s. These are carnivorous
Carnivore

A carnivore , meaning 'meat eater' , is any animal with a diet consisting mainly of meat, whether it comes from animals living or dead .In a more general sense, an animal may be considered a carnivore if it prefers feeding on animal matter over plant matter....
 marine
Marine (ocean)

Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology....
 gastropod molluscs in the family Muricidae
Muricidae

Muricidae, common names murex snails or rock snails, is a large and varied taxonomic family of small to large predatory sea snails....
, the murexes or rock snails.

The common name "murex" is also used for a large number of species in the family Muricidae, most of which in the past were originally given the Latin generic name Murex, but most of which have now been grouped in other newer genera.

The word murex was used by Aristotle in reference to these kinds of snails, thus Murex is arguably one of the oldest classical shell names still in use by the scientific community.

urex is an Indo-Pacific
Indo-Pacific

The Indo-Pacific is a biogeography region of the earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two in the general area of Indonesia....
 genus, as demonstrated by Ponder
Winston Ponder

Winston Ponder B.Sc, M.Sc, Ph.D, D.Sc. is a noted Australian malacologist who has named and described many marine animals. He is a graduate of Auckland University, New Zealand....
 & Vokes (1988).






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Encyclopedia


Murex is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of medium to large sized predatory tropical sea snail
Snail

The word snail is a common name for almost all members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled animal shells in the adult stage. When the word snail is used in a general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails....
s. These are carnivorous
Carnivore

A carnivore , meaning 'meat eater' , is any animal with a diet consisting mainly of meat, whether it comes from animals living or dead .In a more general sense, an animal may be considered a carnivore if it prefers feeding on animal matter over plant matter....
 marine
Marine (ocean)

Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology....
 gastropod molluscs in the family Muricidae
Muricidae

Muricidae, common names murex snails or rock snails, is a large and varied taxonomic family of small to large predatory sea snails....
, the murexes or rock snails.

The common name "murex" is also used for a large number of species in the family Muricidae, most of which in the past were originally given the Latin generic name Murex, but most of which have now been grouped in other newer genera.

The word murex was used by Aristotle in reference to these kinds of snails, thus Murex is arguably one of the oldest classical shell names still in use by the scientific community.

Distribution

Murex is an Indo-Pacific
Indo-Pacific

The Indo-Pacific is a biogeography region of the earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two in the general area of Indonesia....
 genus, as demonstrated by Ponder
Winston Ponder

Winston Ponder B.Sc, M.Sc, Ph.D, D.Sc. is a noted Australian malacologist who has named and described many marine animals. He is a graduate of Auckland University, New Zealand....
 & Vokes (1988). The species from the western Atlantic, which were formerly considered as Murex, are now placed in the genus Haustellum.

Habitat

Most Murex species live in the intertidal or shallow subtidal zone, among rocks and corals.

Shell description

This genus includes many showy members, their elongate shells highly sculptured
Sculpture (mollusc)

Sculpture on a mollusc Animal shell is whatever natural 3-dimensional ornamentation exists on the outer surface of a shell, apart from the basic shape of the shell itself....
 with spines or fronds. The inner surfaces of their ornate shells are often brightly coloured.

Human use

Costly and labor-intensive dyes Tyrian purple
Tyrian purple

Tyrian purple , also known as royal purple, imperial purple or imperial dye, is a purple-red dye which was first produced by the ancient Phoenicians in the city of Tyre, Lebanon....
 (or royal purple
Royal Purple

Royal Purple is an American manufacturer which produces lubricants for automotive, industrial, marine, motorcycle and racing use. It is known primarily for its line of Royal Purple Motor Oil products for use in gasoline and diesel engines....
) and Tekhelet
Tekhelet

Tekhelet, , Techelet or Techeiles is a blue dye mentioned 48 times in the Jewish Bible and translated by the Septuagint as iakinthinos ....
 were historically made by the ancient phoenicians using mucous from the hypobranchial gland of two species commonly referred to as "murex", Murex brandaris and Murex trunculus, which are the older names for Haustellum brandaris
Haustellum brandaris

Haustellum brandaris, also known as Bolinus brandaris or Murex brandaris, and commonly known as the purple dye murex or the spiny dye-murex is a species of medium-sized predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or the rock snails....
 and the Hexaplex trunculus.

This dye was used in royal
Monarchy

A monarchy is a form of government in which supreme power is absolutely or nominally lodged in an individual, who is the head of state, often for Life tenure or until abdication, and "is wholly set apart from all other members of the state." The person who heads a monarchy is called a monarch....
 robes, other kinds of special ceremonial or ritual garments, or garments indicating high rank
Rank

Rank is a very broad term with several meanings. As a noun it is usually related to a relative position or to some kind of ordering . As an adjective it is used to mean profuse, conspicuous, absolute, or unpleasant, especially in relation to the sense of smell or taste....
. It featured prominently in the ancient Temple in Jerusalem, the clothing of the High Priest (or Kohen Gadol
Kohen Gadol

Kohen Gadol or Kohen ha-Gadol is the title of wiktionary:High Priest of early Israelite religion and of Classical Age Judaism from the rise of the Israelite nation until the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem....
) officiating there; it is sometimes still used by Jews today in the ritual fringes (tzitzit
Tzitzit

Tzitzit or tzitzis are "fringes" or "tassels" worn by observant Jews on the corners of four-cornered garments, including the tallit ....
) on four-cornered garments.

Species

  • Murex hoplites
  • Murex radula
  • Murex acanthostephes
  • Murex aduncospinosus : Short-spined murex
  • Murex africanus
  • Murex alocatus
  • Murex altispira : Caltrop murex
  • Murex antillarum : Antilles murex
  • Murex brevispina : Short-spined murex
  • Murex brevispina brevispina
  • Murex brevispina macgillivrayi
  • Murex brevispina ornamentalis
  • Murex carbonnieri : Carbonnier's murex
  • Murex concinnus
  • Murex coppingeri
  • Murex djarianensis
  • Murex djarianensis poppei
  • Murex falsitribulus
  • Murex forskoehlii
  • Murex hystricosus
  • Murex kerslakai
  • Murex megapex
  • Murex occa : Harrowed murex
  • Murex pecten: Venus comb murex
    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....
  • Murex pecten soelae
  • Murex philippinensis
  • Murex pulcher : Beautiful West Indian murex
  • Murex queenslandicus
  • Murex salomonensis
  • Murex scolopax : False venus comb, woodcock murex
  • Murex serratospinosus
  • Murex singaporensis
  • Murex somalicus
  • Murex spectabilis
  • Murex spicatus
  • Murex surinamensis
  • Murex trapa : Rare-spined murex
  • Murex tribulus : Caltrop murex
  • Murex tribulus spicatus
  • Murex tribulus tenuirostrum
  • Murex tribulus tenuirostrum africanus
  • Murex tribulus ternispina
  • Murex troscheli : Troschel's murex
  • Murex antelmei


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