Muricidae
Muricidae Temporal range:
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Shell of Chorus giganteus | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Gastropoda |
Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
Order: | Neogastropoda |
Superfamily: | Muricoidea
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Family: | Muricidae Rafinesque, 1815 |
Subfamilies | |
See text |
Muricidae is a large and varied
Shell description
Muricid shells are variably shaped, generally with a raised spire and strong sculpture with spiral ridges and often axial varices (typically three or more varices on each whorl), also frequently bearing spines, tubercles, or blade-like processes. Periostracum is absent in this family. The aperture 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 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 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
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
The fossil record
The family Muricidae first appears in the
Subfamilies
According to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi (2005) the family Muricidae consists of these subfamilies:
- Aspellinae Keen, 1971
- Coralliophilinae Chenu, 1859 - synonym: Magilidae Thiele, 1925
- Ergalataxinae Kuroda, Habe & Oyama, 1971
- Haustrinae Tan, 2003
- Muricinae Rafinesque, 1815
- Muricopsinae Radwin & d'Attilio, 1971: synonym of Aspellinae Keen, 1971 ( junior subjective synonym)
- Ocenebrinae Cossmann, 1903
- Pagodulinae Barco, Schiaparelli, Houart & Oliverio, 2012
- Rapaninae Gray, 1853 - synonym: Thaididae Jousseaume, 1888
- Tripterotyphinae d'Attilio & Hertz, 1988: synonym of Muricopsinae Radwin & D'Attilio, 1971 : synonym of Aspellinae Keen, 1971 (junior subjective synonym)
- Trophoninae Cossmann, 1903: synonym of Ocenebrinae Cossmann, 1903 (junior subjective synonym)
- Typhinae Cossmann, 1903
- [unassigned] Muricidae
- Synonyms
- Subfamily Drupinae Wenz, 1938: synonym of Rapaninae Gray, 1853
- Genus Drupinia [sic]: synonym of Drupina Dall, 1923
- Genus Galeropsis Hupé, 1860: synonym of Coralliophila H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853
- Tritoninae Gray, 1847: synonym of Ranellidae Gray, 1854 (Invalid: type genus placed on the Official Index by Opinion 886 [junior homonym of Triton Linnaeus, 1758])
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Hexaplex radix
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Murex pecten
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Nucella lapillus
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Ocenebra erinacea
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Reishia bronni
References
- ISBN 978-3-939767-32-9.
- ^ Houart, Roland. (2018). "Historique et classification des espèces actuelles de Muricidae (Neogastropoda, Muricoidea)." Novapex 19:37–66
- Houart, R. (1994). Illustrated Catalogue of Recent Species of Muricidae named since 1971. 181 pp. [incl. 28 pls.], Verlag Christa Hemmen, Wiesbaden. ISBN 3-925919-19-8.
- 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 Muricidae
- George E.Radwin and Anthony D'Attilio: The Murex shells of the World, Stanford University press, 1976, ISBN 0-8047-0897-5
- Pappalardo P., Rodríguez-Serrano E. & Fernández M. (2014). "Correlated Evolution between Mode of Larval Development and Habitat in Muricid Gastropods".
- Miocene Gastropods and Biostratigraphy of the Kern River Area, California; United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 642 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.