Hexaplex fulvescens

Hexaplex fulvescens, the giant eastern murex or giant Atlantic murex or tawny murex, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.[1]

Hexaplex fulvescens
Shell of Hexaplex fulvescens (Sowerby, 1834), with operculum, measuring 116.9 mm in height, off Brownsville, in Texas.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Neogastropoda
Superfamily:
Muricoidea
Family:
Muricidae
Subfamily:
Muricinae
Genus:
Hexaplex
Subgenus:
Trunculariopsis
Species:
H. fulvescens
Binomial name
Hexaplex fulvescens
(Sowerby, 1834)
Synonyms[1]
  • Murex burryi Clench & Farfante, 1945
  • Murex fulvescens Sowerby, 1834
  • Murex spinicosta Valenciennes in Kiener, 1843

Distribution

This species is native to the western Atlantic Ocean from North Carolina to Cape Canaveral, Florida and it is also present in the Gulf of Mexico from Florida west to Texas.[2][3]

Habitat

These quite uncommon sea snails live at depths of 0 to 80 m.[4] In fact they commonly can be found in deeper waters, but they can also be found in shallow inshore waters.[3][5]

A Shell of Hexaplex fulvescens from the Antilles

Description

Shells of Hexaplex fulvescens can reach a size of 60–223 millimetres (2.4–8.8 in).[2] These shells are massive and spinose and they are the largest muricid shells of the Western Atlantic (hence the common name).[3] They have several straight or bifurcate spines arranged in 6-10 radial rows with spiraling ridges. Shell surface may be whitish, grayish or pale brown, the aperture is oval with crenulate edges. The siphonal canal is short.[5]

Biology

Hexaplex fulvescens are active predators on other mollusks (mussels, oysters and clams).[3] They lay their eggs in capsules attached under rocks.[6]

References
  1. Hexaplex fulvescens (Sowerby, 1834). Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 24 April 2010.
  2. "Hexaplex (Muricanthus) fulvescens". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  3. Jaxshells.org
  4. "Filaman.uni". Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  5. Identification Guide to Marine Organisms of Texas
  6. Susan B. Rothschild (2004). Beachcomber's Guide to Gulf Coast Marine Life: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Taylor Trade Publications. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-58979-061-2.

Bibliography
  • G. E. Radwin - Murex Shells of the World: An Illustrated Guide to the Muricidae
  • National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Seashells
  • Turgeon, D. D., J. F. Quinn Jr., A. E. Bogan, E. V. Coan, F. G. Hochberg, W. G. Lyons, et al. (1998) Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Mollusks, 2nd ed., American Fisheries Society Special Publication 26
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