Murex
Scientific classification
Kingdom Animalia Phylum Mollusca Class Gastropoda Subclass Orthogastropoda Superorder Caenogastropoda Order Sorbeoconcha Suborder Hypsogastropoda Family Muricidae Subfamily Muricinae Genus Murex
Species
see text

Murex (Linnaeus, 1758) is a genus of tropical carnivorous marine gastropods. They almost all live in the intertidal zone, among rocks and corals.

This genus includes many showy members, their elongate shells highly sculptured with spines or fronds. The inner surfaces of their ornate shells are often brightly coloured.

Mucus from the hypobranchial gland of two species, Murex brandaris and Murex trunculus, the former names for Haustellum brandaris and Hexaplex trunculus are used to make the dye Tyrian purple (or Royal purple) for use in royal garments.

Murex is an Indo-Pacific genus, as demonstrated by Ponder & Vokes (1988). The species from the West-Atlantic, formerly considered as Murex, are actually Haustellum

Species

• Murex hoplites
• Murex radula

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

Reference

Ponder, W.F. & E.H. Vokes. 1988. A revision of the Indo-West Pacific fossil and Recent species of Murex s.s. and Haustellum (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Muricidae). Records of the Australian Museum, Supplement 8. 160 pp.

External link

Digital Murex (http://www.biosci.ohio-state.edu/~molluscs/murex28/index.htm)