''Babelomurex pacei'' is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
sea snail
Sea snails are slow-moving marine (ocean), marine gastropod Mollusca, molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the Taxonomic classification, taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguishe ...
, a
marine gastropod
Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda ().
This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...
mollusk
Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...
, in the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Muricidae
Muricidae is a large and varied taxonomic family of small to large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks, commonly known as murex snails or rock snails. With over 1,700 living species, the Muricidae represent almost 10% of the Neog ...
, the murex snails or rock snails.
[MolluscaBase eds. (2023). MolluscaBase. Babelomurex pacei (Petuch, 1987). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1596671 on 2023-07-08]
Description
Original description: "Shell small for genus, with ovate, inflated body whorl and elevated, scalariform spire; body whorl ornamented with 2 large fimbriated spiral cords, one at shoulder and one below (anterior to) mid-body; 3 small squamose spiral cords between suture and large shoulder cord; 2 small squamose spiral cords between 2 large cords around anterior end; 9 low varices per whorl; large scale produced at intersection of varix and spiral cord, giving shell fimbriated appearance; shell uniformly cream-white in color."
Distribution
Locus typicus: "Off Pompano outfall, Pompano Beach, Florida, USA."
[Petuch, E.J. 1987-''New Caribbean Molluscan Faunas'', page 27. Publ: CERF]
This species was recently discovered in Martinique, French West Indies.
References
* Garrigues, B., Lamy, D. & Zuccon, D. (2022). The Coralliophilinae from the Antilles and French Guiana with the description of six new species. Xenophora Taxonomy. 37: 4-53.
pacei
Gastropods described in 1987
{{Coralliophilinae-stub