Murex tribulus var. trapa
Roding
(Sea Snail)
Organism information awaits expert curation
Organism information awaits expert curation
| Taxonomy | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Neogastropoda |
| Family: | Muricidae |
Description
Color: The outer surface of the shell is pale yellowish brown, while the interior of the aperture is whitish, heavily stained with dark brown.
The shell is moderately thin, with a rounded, somewhat inflated body whorl, a well developed, turreted spire and a greatly elongated, narrow, attenuated anterior canal which is almost entirely covered up along the apertural surface so as to become a more or less completely closed tube. The whorls are strongly angularly shouldered round the upper part. The surface is strongly spirally ridged, the ridges being slightly raised into imperfectly developed nodular swellings which are specially pronounced on the angular parts of the whorls. There are three strong varices, each armed with a few, strong, moderately elongated and somewhat widely spaced spines, the upper ones of which generally tend to be slightly upwardly curved; the spines are finely grooved on their flattened surfaces. The varices with the accompanying spines are produced along the sides of the tubular anterior canal for the greater part of its length. The edge of the outer lip is produced into two or three short, conical, lamina-like teeth of which the one just below the middle is the largest and projects most. The lower most part of the anterior canal is devoid of spines.
Color: The outer surface of the shell is pale yellowish brown, while the interior of the aperture is whitish, heavily stained with dark brown.
The shell is moderately thin, with a rounded, somewhat inflated body whorl, a well developed, turreted spire and a greatly elongated, narrow, attenuated anterior canal which is almost entirely covered up along the apertural surface so as to become a more or less completely closed tube. The whorls are strongly angularly shouldered round the upper part. The surface is strongly spirally ridged, the ridges being slightly raised into imperfectly developed nodular swellings which are specially pronounced on the angular parts of the whorls. There are three strong varices, each armed with a few, strong, moderately elongated and somewhat widely spaced spines, the upper ones of which generally tend to be slightly upwardly curved; the spines are finely grooved on their flattened surfaces. The varices with the accompanying spines are produced along the sides of the tubular anterior canal for the greater part of its length. The edge of the outer lip is produced into two or three short, conical, lamina-like teeth of which the one just below the middle is the largest and projects most. The lower most part of the anterior canal is devoid of spines.
Synonym (s)
• Murex trapa Roding, 1798
• Murex martinianus Reeve, 1845
• Murex martinianus Kobelt, 1869
• Murex rarispina Sowerby, 1879
• Murex martinianus Schepman, 1908
• Murex trapa Crichton, 1941
• Murex tribulus var. trapa Gravely, 1942
• Murex trapa Roding, 1798
• Murex martinianus Reeve, 1845
• Murex martinianus Kobelt, 1869
• Murex rarispina Sowerby, 1879
• Murex martinianus Schepman, 1908
• Murex trapa Crichton, 1941
• Murex tribulus var. trapa Gravely, 1942
Common Name (s)
Economic Importance and Threats
Ecology
Biogeography
• Tamil Nadu, Parangipettai Coast INDIA
• Tamil Nadu, Parangipettai Coast INDIA
Literature Source(s)
- Rajagopal, S; Khan, SA; Srinivasan, M and Shanmugam, A (1998) Gastropods of Parangipettai coast Annamalai University 38 pp Available at - NIO, Goa
- Society for the Management of European Biodiversity Data (2009) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) Available at - http://www.marinespecies.org
Page last updated on:2010-07-09
