All Topics  
Muricidae

 
Muricidae

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Muricidae
 
 
  Topics Muricidae Topic Home

Muricidae, common names murex snails or rock snails, is a large and varied taxonomic family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 of small to large predatory 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. At least 1,000 species of muricids are known, and there are numerous subfamilies.

(Note: Gastropod taxonomy
Taxonomy

Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification. The word comes from the Greek language ', taxis and ', nomos .Taxonomies, or taxonomic schemes, are composed of taxonomic units known as taxa , or kinds of things that are arranged frequently in a hierarchical structure....
 has been in flux for more than half a century, and this is especially true currently, because of new research in molecular phylogeny. Because of all the on-going changes, different reliable sources can yield very different classifications.)

Many muricids have unusual shells which are considered attractive by shell
Seashell

A seashell, also known as a sea shell, or simply as a shell, is the common name for a hard, protective outer layer, a shell, or in some cases a "test", that was created by a sea creature, a Marine organism....
 collectors and by interior designers.

spire
Spire (mollusc)

File:Turritella communis Turmschnecke.jpgFile:Little snail.JPGFile:Xerolenta obvia3pl.jpgFile:Planorbarius_corneus_top.jpgA spire is a descriptive term for part of the Animal shell of a snail, a gastropod mollusc shell or gastropod shell....
 and body whorl
Whorl (mollusc)

File:Anisus septegyrus1pl.jpgFile:Turritella communis fossiel.jpgA whorl is a single, complete 360? revolution or turn in the spiral growth of a mollusc shell....
 of muricids is often ornamented
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 knobs, tubercules, ribbing or spines.

Many muricids have episodic growth, which means that the shell grows in spurts, remaining the same size for a while (during which time the varix
Varix (mollusc)

A varix is an anatomical feature of the gastropod shell of certain sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks.It is a thickened axial ridge in the Animal shell of some families of gastropods....
 develops) before rapidly growing to the next size stage.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Muricidae'
Start a new discussion about 'Muricidae'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Muricidae, common names murex snails or rock snails, is a large and varied taxonomic family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 of small to large predatory 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. At least 1,000 species of muricids are known, and there are numerous subfamilies.

(Note: Gastropod taxonomy
Taxonomy

Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification. The word comes from the Greek language ', taxis and ', nomos .Taxonomies, or taxonomic schemes, are composed of taxonomic units known as taxa , or kinds of things that are arranged frequently in a hierarchical structure....
 has been in flux for more than half a century, and this is especially true currently, because of new research in molecular phylogeny. Because of all the on-going changes, different reliable sources can yield very different classifications.)

Many muricids have unusual shells which are considered attractive by shell
Seashell

A seashell, also known as a sea shell, or simply as a shell, is the common name for a hard, protective outer layer, a shell, or in some cases a "test", that was created by a sea creature, a Marine organism....
 collectors and by interior designers.

Shell description

The spire
Spire (mollusc)

File:Turritella communis Turmschnecke.jpgFile:Little snail.JPGFile:Xerolenta obvia3pl.jpgFile:Planorbarius_corneus_top.jpgA spire is a descriptive term for part of the Animal shell of a snail, a gastropod mollusc shell or gastropod shell....
 and body whorl
Whorl (mollusc)

File:Anisus septegyrus1pl.jpgFile:Turritella communis fossiel.jpgA whorl is a single, complete 360? revolution or turn in the spiral growth of a mollusc shell....
 of muricids is often ornamented
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 knobs, tubercules, ribbing or spines.

Many muricids have episodic growth, which means that the shell grows in spurts, remaining the same size for a while (during which time the varix
Varix (mollusc)

A varix is an anatomical feature of the gastropod shell of certain sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks.It is a thickened axial ridge in the Animal shell of some families of gastropods....
 develops) before rapidly growing to the next size stage. The result is a series of varices on each whorl
Whorl (mollusc)

File:Anisus septegyrus1pl.jpgFile:Turritella communis fossiel.jpgA whorl is a single, complete 360? revolution or turn in the spiral growth of a mollusc shell....
.

Life habits

Most species of muricids are carnivorous, feeding on other gastropods, on bivalves, and on barnacle
Barnacle

A barnacle is a type of arthropod belonging to infraclass Cirripedia in the Subphylum Crustacean, and is hence distantly related to crabs and lobsters....
s.

Muricids lay egg capsules from which the young snails hatch.

The fossil record

The family Muricidae first appears in the fossil record during the Aptian
Aptian

Aptian stage is a faunal stage of the Early Cretaceous epoch in the geologic timescale, that extends from 125.0 ? 1.0 annum to 112.0 ? 1.0 Ma , approximately....
 age of the Cretaceous period
Cretaceous

The Cretaceous , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide, is a geologic period from circa to million years ago . In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows on the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period....
.

Subfamilies within the family Muricidae

  • Coralliophilinae Chenu, 1859
  • Ergalataxinae Kuroda, Habe & Oyama, 1971
  • Haustrinae
    Haustrinae

    In one version of current gastropod taxonomy, Haustrinae is a taxonomic subfamily of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Muricidae, the murex shells or rock shells....
      Tan, 2003
  • Muricinae
    Muricinae

    Muricinae is a taxonomic subfamily of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks within the large family Muricidae, the murex snails and rock snails....
      Rafinesque, 1815
  • Muricopsinae Radwin & d'Attilio, 1971
  • Ocenebrinae
    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....
      Cossmann, 1903
  • Rapaninae
    Rapaninae

    Rapaninae is a subfamily of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Muricidae.This subfamily was known as Thaidinae until 1993....
     (=Thaidinae) Gray, 1853
  • Tripterotyphinae d'Attilio & Hertz, 1988
  • Trophoninae Cossmann, 1903
  • Typhinae Cossmann, 1903


External links