''Chicoreus brevifrons'', common name the West Indian murex, is a
species of predatory
sea snail
Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...
, a
marine
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
* Maritime (disambiguation)
* Marine art
* Marine biology
* Marine debris
* Marine habitats
* Marine life
* Marine pollution
Military
* ...
gastropod
The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda ().
This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...
mollusk in the family
Muricidae, the murex snails.
[Houart, R. (2011). Chicoreus brevifrons (Lamarck, 1822). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=558803 on 2011-06-25]
Shell description
The maximum
shell length of this species is up to 150 mm.
[Leal, J.H. (2002). Gastropods. p. 99-147. In: Carpenter, K.E. (ed.). The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Volume 1: Introduction, molluscs, crustaceans, hagfishes, sharks, batoid fishes, and chimaeras. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes and American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5. 1600p.]
The shell of ''C. brevifrons'' is relatively elongate, and has a typical muricid outline. Three axial varices are present along its
body whorl
The body whorl is part of the morphology of the shell in those gastropod mollusks that possess a coiled shell. The term is also sometimes used in a similar way to describe the shell of a cephalopod mollusk.
In gastropods
In gastropods, the b ...
, and they are ornamented by characteristic expanded hollow spines. It also presents flat spiral cords in the interspaces of its surface. The anterior canal is well-developed,
akin to several other
Muricidae snails.
Distribution
''C. brevifrons'' occurs in the Western
Central Atlantic, from the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
, the
Gulf of Mexico, the
Antilles to
Brazil.
Ecology
Habitat
This sea snail dwells on mud flats in protected
bays
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...
and
lagoons. It is commonly found near
oyster banks, as well as
mangrove areas.
Feeding
''C. brevifrons'' is an active
predator of other molluscs such as
oysters
Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...
and
clams.
[Arcas, A.P. et al. (2001). ]
Producción secundaria e índice de condición en Arca zebra (Mollusca: Bivalvia) del Golfo de Cariaco, Venezuela
'. Rev. Biol. Trop., 49(2): 599-608.
Human uses
This sea snail is locally collected for food, and is consumed raw or boiled.
The shell is often sold as a souvenir in local markets.
References
* Rosenberg, G., F. Moretzsohn, and E. F. García. 2009. ''Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico'', Pp. 579–699 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas.
* Merle D., Garrigues B. & Pointier J.-P. (2011) ''Fossil and Recent Muricidae of the world. Part Muricinae''. Hackenheim: Conchbooks. 648 pp. page(s): 104
* Garrigues B. & Lamy D. , 2019. Inventaire des Muricidae récoltés au cours de la campagne MADIBENTHOS du MNHN en Martinique (Antilles Françaises) et description de 12 nouvelles espèces des genres Dermomurex, Attiliosa, Acanthotrophon, Favartia, Muricopsis et Pygmaepterys (Mollusca, Gastropoda). Xenophora Taxonomy 36: 22-59
External links
Lamarck, .-B. M.">Lamarck, [J.-B. M.de. (1822). Histoire naturelle des animaux sans vertèbres. Tome septième. Paris: published by the Author, 711 pp.
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Chicoreus
Gastropods described in 1822
Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck