Babelomurex cariniferus, common name Babel's latiaxis, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.Biolib
Distribution Babelomurex cariniferus is present from the Mediterranean Sea to the west coast of Africa (Canaries, Cape Verde, Angola).Galli C.: WMSDB - Worldwide Mollusc Species Data BaseDiscover Life
This species (as junior synonym Latiaxis babelis) is listed in the IUCN Red List, because it is thought to be endemic to Malta.
Habitat These sea snails live in the coral reef among corals and sponges. They can be found from a few meters to more than 1000.
Description Shells of Babelomurex cariniferus can reach a size of . The shell surface may be whitish or dark greyish. These shells are variably shaped. They show numerous flattened spires with very thorny axial ribs. The keels of the whorls are adorned with several spiniform scales. A corneous operculum is present.Conchiglie del Mediterraneo
This species is quite similar to Babelomurex benoiti, but Babelomurex cariniferus is more variable in feature and sculpture and differs in the number of spiniform scales.Ghisotti, F., 1978: Considerations on Latiaxis babelis and on Latiaxis amaliae Conchiglie (Milan) 14(7-8): 135-142
Biology These uncommon infralittoral sea snails are specialist feeders. In fact they feed exclusively on the polyps of the colonies of scleractinian stony corals.Alexandra Richter and Angel A. Luque Sex change in two Mediterranean species of Coralliophilidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Neogastropoda)
References
External links NCBI
Bibliography Cossignani T. (2010) Validazione di Babelomurex tectumsinensis (Deshayes, 1856). Malacologia Mostra Mondiale 66: 19 Emilio Rolan - Malacological Fauna from the Cape Verde Archipelago Gofas, S.; Afonso, J.P.; Brandào, M. (Ed.). (S.a.). Conchas e Moluscos de Angola = Coquillages et Mollusques d'Angola. [Shells and molluscs of Angola]. Universidade Agostinho / Elf Aquitaine Angola: Angola. 140 pp. Gofas, S.; Le Renard, J.; Bouchet, P. (2001). Mollusca, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 180–213 Repetto G., Orlando F. & Arduino G. (2005): Conchiglie del Mediterraneo, Amici del Museo "Federico Eusebio", Alba, Italy