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Phylum
Mollusca
Class
Gastropoda
Family Muricidae
Murex
Shells
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These animals feed upon other mollusks by drilling with the
radula and secreting acid to burn through the shell, leaving a small round hole
as evidence. A few feed upon living corals using acid alone. The
animals create a green fluid that dries purple. Ancient Romans used to
crush hundreds of murex to create this royal dye.
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Most have spiny shells and attractive colors and are
popular with collectors. They are found in habitats where their favorite
prey occurs, including the intertidal zone, estuaries, mudflats, sand, boulders,
and reefs to deep water. Murex in Hawaii are rare at scuba depths but
diverse and plentiful elsewhere. Shells are usually
heavily encrusted with organisms and better ones may be cleaned by soaking
them in bleach, followed by lots of scraping and scrubbing with a
stainless-steel brush.
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HAWAII
Subfamily
Muricinae
Chicoreus
(Triplex) insularum
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Sea Tiger, Oahu, 85 feet |
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HAWAIIAN BURNT MUREX
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Endemic to
Hawaii. Rare on ledges in deep water. Color varies from cream to dark brown.
Feeds upon bivalves. Attains 4 inches. |
Aspella producta
Kewalo Hump, Oahu, 90 feet
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Kewalo Hump, Oahu, 90 feet
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ELONGATE ASPELLA
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Fairly common under rocks at any depth.
Attains nearly 1 inch. Hawaii & the Indo-Pacific. |
Subfamily Muricopsinae
Homalocantha anatomica pele
PELE'S MUREX
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Endemic
Hawaiian subspecies. Uncommon on coralline reefs at scuba depths and
difficult to spot. White shell may be tinted with purple, red, or yellow.
Feeds upon boring mussels in reef rock. Attains 4 inches in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. |
Favartia garrettii
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Uncommon under
stones in shallow water. Less than 3/8 inch. Endemic to
Hawaii. |

Subfamily Ocenebrinae
Vitularia miliaris
SPOTTED VITULARIA
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Uncommon under
stones in deep water, rarely in tidepools. Attains 2 inches.
Hawaii & the Indo-Pacific. |

NORTHEAST
PACIFIC
Subfamily
Ocenebrinae
Nucella emarginata
Ogden Point, Victoria, Canada, 4 feet
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Ogden Point, Victoria, Canada, 4 feet |
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EMARGINATE DOG-WINKLE
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Common on rocky reefs in shallow water. Attains
1.5 inches. Alaska to Baja California. Formerly known as Thais
emarginata. |

Nucella
lamellosa
Juvenile, Ogden Point, Victoria, Canada, 4 feet
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FRILLED DOG-WINKLE
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Common on rocky reefs. Attains 4 inches.
Alaska to Central California. Formerly known as Thais lamellosa. |

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