Murex is a genus of medium to large sized predatory tropical sea snails. They are carnivorous marine gastropod molluscs in the family Muricidae, commonly called "murexes" or "rock snails".Houart, R.; Gofas, S. (2010). Murex Linnaeus, 1758. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=138196 on 2011-04-09
The common name murex is still used for many species in the family Muricidae which were originally given the Latin generic name Murex, but have more recently been regrouped into separate genera. Murex was used in antiquity to describe spiny sea snails, especially those associated with the production of purple dye. Murex is one of the oldest classical seashell names still used by the scientific community.
Etymology The name originates from the Latin word mūrex, likely related to the Greek word (myax), meaning sea mussel. The connection between these terms suggests a shared linguistic root, possibly linked to the Greek word (mys), meaning "mouse", due to the perceived resemblance between the shape of certain mollusks and mice.
Aristotle described these mollusks in his History of Animals using the Greek term (porphyra).
Fossil records This genus is known in the fossil records from the Cretaceous to the Quaternary (age range: from 125.45 to 0.0 million years ago). Fossils of species within this genus have been found all over the world. There are about 25 known extinct species.Fossilworks
Distribution Murex is solely an Indo-Pacific genus, as demonstrated by Ponder & Vokes (1988). The species from the western Atlantic that were formerly considered to belong to the genus 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 with spines or fronds. The inner surfaces of their ornate shells are often brightly coloured.
Human use The costly and labour-intensive dyes Tyrian purple (or "royal purple") and tekhelet were historically made by the ancient Phoenicians, using mucus from the hypobranchial gland of two species commonly referred to as "murex", Murex brandaris and Murex trunculus, which are now classified as Bolinus brandaris and Hexaplex trunculus. This dye is a rare animal-produced organobromine compound, which the snails make using a specific bromide peroxidase enzyme that operates on dissolved bromide in sea water.Jannun R., Nuwayhid N. and Coe E. (1981) Biological bromination – bromoperoxidase activity in the Murex sea-snail. FASEB. J. 40, 1774.
This dye was used in royal robes, other kinds of special ceremonial or ritual garments, or garments indicating high rank. It is hypothesised that the dye was the same dye as that which featured prominently in the ancient Temple in Jerusalem, the clothing of the High Priest of Israel officiating there; it is sometimes still used by Jews today in the ritual fringes (tzitzit) on four-cornered garments.Tekhelet - Biblical Blue Dye for Tzitzit A consensus has yet to be reached regarding the Biblical source of the "blue" dye, though the latest archeological research on dyes in this region indicates that it was indeed Murex trunculus snails that were used for the ancient tekhelet dye.
Species The genus Murex, as originally defined by Linnaeus, encompassed many taxa that are now placed elsewhere in the superfamily Muricoidea. During the 19th century, the definition of Murex was restricted by Lamarck and his contemporaries first to species in the family Muricidae, and then was limited even further to the subfamilies Muricinae and Ocenebrinae. Malacologists of the 19th century including Kiener, Reeve, Küster & Kobelt and Sowerby treated all muricoid forms as belonging to Murex. This is the main reason why Murex has so many synonyms.
The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) lists the following species with accepted names within the genus Murex. The subgenera are considered alternate representations.WoRMS : Murex 23 December 2010
Murex acanthostephes Watson, 1883 Murex aduncospinosus G.B. Sowerby II, 1841:^Houart, R. (2009). Murex aduncospinosus Sowerby, 1841. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=215644 on 2010-08-06 Murex africanus Ponder & Vokes, 1988 Murex altispira Ponder & Vokes, 1988 Caltrop murex Murex antelmei Viader, 1938 † Murex bonneti Cossmann, 1903 Murex brevispina Lamarck, 1822 Short-spined murex † Murex camplytropis Tate, 1888 Murex carbonnieri (Jousseaume, 1881) Carbonnier's murex Murex concinnus Reeve, 1845 Murex coppingeri E. A. Smith, 1884 † Murex crassiliratus Tate, 1888 Murex djarianensis Martin, 1895 Murex djarianensis poppei Houart, R. (2009). Murex djarianensis poppei Houart, 1979. Accessed through the World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404977 on 2010-08-06 (synonym : Murex (Murex) poppei Houart, 1979) Murex echinodes Houart, 2011 Murex falsitribulus Ponder & Vokes, 1988 Murex forskoehlii Röding, 1798 † Murex grooti H. M. Jenkins, 1864 † Murex guppyi Ladd, 1977 † Murex halli d'Archiac & Haime, 1854 Murex huangi Houart, 2010 Murex hystricosus Houart & Dharma, 2001 Murex indicus Houart, 2011 † Murex irregularis Tate, 1888 Murex kerslakae Ponder & Vokes, 1988 † Murex lyelli d'Archiac & Haime, 1854 (accepted > unreplaced junior homonym) Murex megapex Neubert, 1998 † Murex minutus R. M. Johnston, 1880 † Murex nasongoensis Ladd, 1977 † Murex noae Holten, 1802 Murex occa G.B. Sowerby II, 1834 Harrowed murex † Murex paradoxicus H. M. Jenkins, 1864 Murex pecten Lightfoot, 1786 ': Venus comb murex Murex pecten soelae Murex philippinensis Parth, 1994 Murex protocrassus Houart, 1990 Murex queenslandicus Ponder & Vokes, 1988 † Murex roemeri d'Archiac & Haime, 1854 Murex salomonensis Parth, 1994 Murex scolopax Dillwyn, 1817 False venus comb, woodcock murex Murex somalicus Parth, 1990 Murex spectabilis Ponder & Vokes, 1988 Murex spicatus Ponder & Vokes, 1988 Murex spinastreptos Houart, 2010 † Murex spinicosta Bronn, 1831 Murex surinamensis Okutani, 1982 Murex suttipraneeae Gra-tes, 2023 † Murex tchihatcheffi d'Archiac & Haime, 1854 Murex tenuirostrum Lamarck, 1822 Murex ternispina Lamarck, 1822 Murex trapa Roding, 1798 Rare-spined murex Murex tribulus Linnaeus, 1758, 1758: Caltrop murex Murex tribulus spicatus Murex tribulus tenuirostrum Murex tribulus tenuirostrum africanus Murex tribulus ternispina Murex troscheli Lischke, 1868 Troschel's murex
Species mentioned as species in current use in the Indo-Pacific Molluscan Database (OBIS) Murex singaporensis A.Adams, 1853Indo-Pacific Molluscan Database : Murex (Murex) singaporensis
Species brought into synonymy Murex aedonius Watson, 1896: synonym of Coralliophila aedonia (Watson, 1885) Murex afer Gmelin, 1791: synonym of Afer afer (Gmelin, 1791) Murex alocatus: synonym of Pterymarchia barclayana (H. Adams, 1873) Murex antillarum : Antilles murex: synonym of Siratus articulatus (Reeve, 1845) Murex argo Clench & Farfante, 1945: synonym of Chicoreus (Triplex) spectrum (Reeve, 1846) Murex belcheri Hinds, 1843 : synonym of Forreria belcheri (Hinds, 1843) Murex bellus Reeve, 1845: synonym of Vokesimurex bellus (Reeve, 1845) Murex blakeanus Vokes, 1967: synonym of Vokesimurex blakeanus (Vokes, 1967) Murex brandaris Linnaeus, 1758: synonym of Bolinus brandaris (Linnaeus, 1758) Murex canaliculatus Linnaeus, 1758: synonym of Busycotypus canaliculatus (Linnaeus, 1758) Murex capitellum Linnaeus, 1758: synonym of Vasum capitellum (Linnaeus, 1758) Murex corallinus Scacchi, 1836: synonym of Ocinebrina aciculata (Lamarck, 1822) Murex corneus Linnaeus, 1758: synonym of Euthria cornea (Linnaeus, 1758) Murex coronatus Born, 1778: synonym of Pseudovertagus aluco (Linnaeus, 1758) Murex edwardsii: synonym of Ocinebrina edwardsii (Payraudeau, 1826) Murex garciai Petuch, 1987: synonym of Vokesimurex garciai (Petuch, 1987) Murex gubbi Reeve, 1849: synonym of Chicocenebra gubbi (Reeve, 1849) Murex inconspicuus G.B. Sowerby II, 1841: synonym of Ocinebrina aciculata (Lamarck, 1822) Murex intertextus Helbling, 1779: synonym of Cumia reticulata Murex jickelii Tapparone Canefri, 1875: synonym of Naquetia jickelii (Tapparone Canefri, 1875) Murex lindajoycae Petuch, 1987: synonym of Vokesimurex lindajoycae (Petuch, 1987) Murex longicornis Dunker, 1864: synonym of Chicoreus longicornis (Dunker, 1864) Murex maroccensis Gmelin, 1791: synonym of Fusinus maroccensis Murex monodon Sowerby, 1825: synonym of Chicoreus (Chicoreus) cornucervi (Röding, 1798) Murex nassa Gmelin, 1791: synonym of Leucozonia nassa (Gmelin, 1791) Murex nebula Montagu, 1803: synonym of Bela nebula (Montagu, 1803) Murex peritus Hinds, 1844a: synonym of Favartia (Favartia) perita (Hinds, 1844) Murex pistacia Reeve, 1845: synonym of Ocinebrina aciculata (Lamarck, 1822) Murex purpuroides Dunker: synonym of Vaughtia purpuroides (Reeve, 1845) Murex recurvirostris: synonym of Vokesimurex recurvirostrum (Broderip, 1833) Murex rota Sowerby: synonym of Homalocantha anatomica (Perry, 1811) Murex rubidus: synonym of Vokesimurex rubidus (F.C. Baker, 1897) Murex serratospinosus Dunker, 1883: synonym of Vokesimurex mindanaoensis (G.B. Sowerby II, 1841) Murex subaciculatus Locard, 1886: synonym of Ocinebrina aciculata (Lamarck, 1822) Murex taxus Dillwyn, 1817: synonym of Clavatula taxea (Röding, 1798) † Murex textilis Brocchi, 1814: synonym of † Rimosodaphnella textilis (Brocchi, 1814) Murex triqueter: synonym of Naquetia triqueter (Born, 1778) Murex tulipa Linnaeus, 1758: synonym of Fasciolaria tulipa (Linnaeus, 1758) Murex turbinellus Linnaeus, 1758: synonym of Vasum turbinellus (Linnaeus, 1758) Murex vittatus Broderip, 1833: synonym of Favartia (Favartia) vittata (Broderip, 1833)
References
Merle, D., Garrigues, B. & Pointier, J.-P. 2011. Fossil and Recent Muricidae of the World, Part Muricinae. 648 pp., 182 colour plates, Hackenheim. . 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 links
Aristotle, 350 B.C.E. A history of animals Sowerby, G. B. II. (1874). Monograph of the genus Mitra. In G. B. Sowerby II (ed.), Thesaurus conchyliorum, or monographs of genera of shells. Vol. 4 (31-32): 1–46, pls 352–379. London, privately published