The mangrove murex (''Chicoreus capucinus'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

of sea snail, a marine gastropod

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is es ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

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 about 1,600 living species, the Muricidae represent almost 10% of the Ne ...

, the murex snails or rock snails.

Distribution and habitat

These sea snails are widespread in the Indo-Pacific, from

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and Australia (

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Au ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

) to Fiji and the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its ca ...

. They live in mangroves and mud flats. Chicoreus capucinus 001

Description

Shells of ''Chicoreus capucinus'' can reach a size of . These large shells are heavy and solid, elaborately textured, uniformly dark brown, with six convex whorls. They are sculptured with prominent spiral cords, axial ribs and striae. The aperture is rounded or oviform, brown tinged and the inner labial edge show 14–17 denticles. The siphonal canal is quite long. The operculum is dark brown.

Biology

These voracious predators feed on the barnacles growing on mangroves and on mussels, snails and worms .Wild Singapore
/ref>Koh-Siang Tan & Tre Ming O
Feeding habits of Chicoreus capucinus (Neogastropoda: Muricidae) in a Singapore mangrove
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References

* Lamarck, J.B.P.A. de M. 1822. ''Histoire naturelle des Animaux sans Vertèbres.'' Paris : J.B. Lamarck Vol. 7 711 pp. * Sowerby, G.B. (2nd) 1834. T''he Conchological illustrations, Murex.'' Pls 58–67; 1841: pls 187–199 and catalogue: 1–9. Sowerby, London. * Adams, A. 1853. ''Descriptions of several new species of Murex, Rissoina, Planaxis, and Eulima from the Cummingian collection.'' Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1851(19): 267–272 * Baker, F.C. 1891. ''Descriptions of new species of Muricidae, with remarks on the apices of certain forms''. Proceedings of the Rochester Academy of Science 1: 129–137 * Brazier, J. 1893. ''Catalogue of the marine shells of Australia and Tasmania. Part III. Gastropoda, Murex''. Australian Museum Sydney, Catalogue 15:. 45–74 pp. * Melvill, J.C. & Standen, R. 1899. ''Report on the marine Mollusca obtained during the first expedition of Prof. A.C. Haddon to the Torres Straits in 1888–89.'' Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology 27: 150–206, pls 1–2 * Hedley, C. 1915. ''Studies on Australian Mollusca. Part XII.'' Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 39: 695–755, pls 77–85 * Cotton, B.C. 1956. ''Family Muricidae.'' Royal Society of South Australia, Malacological Section, Publication 8. 2 pls, 8 unnumbered * Wilson, B.R. & Gillett, K. 1971. ''Australian Shells: illustrating and describing 600 species of marine gastropods found in Australian waters''. Sydney : Reed Books 168 pp. * Fair, R.H. 1976. ''The Murex Book: An illustrated catalogue of Recent Muricidae (Muricinae, Muricopsinae, Ocenebrinae).'' Honolulu : R. Fair 23 pls, 138 pp. * Houart, R. 1992. T''he genus Chicoreus and related genera (Gastropoda: Muricidae) in the Indo-West Pacific.'' Mémoires du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. Paris A 154: 1–188 * Wilson, B. 1994. ''Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranch Gastropods''. Kallaroo, WA : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 2 370 pp. * Middelfart, P. 1997. ''An illustrated checklist of Muricidae (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia) from the Andaman Sea, Thailand.'' Phuket Marine Biological Center Special Publication 17(2): 349–388 * Tan, K.S. & Chou, L.M. 2000. ''A Guide to Common Seashells of Singapore''. Singapore : Singapore Science Centre 168 pp.

Bibliography

* Alan Hinton – ''Shells of New Guinea & Central Pacific'' * Merle D., Garrigues B. & Pointier J.-P. (2011) ''Fossil and Recent Muricidae of the world. Part Muricinae.'' Hackenheim: Conchbooks. 648 pp. * Ngoc-Thach Nguyên – ''Shells of Vietnam''
Petit, R. E. (2009). ''George Brettingham Sowerby, I, II & III: their conchological publications and molluscan taxa''. Zootaxa. 2189: 1–218
* R. Houart – ''Chicoreus and related genera in Indo-West Pacific'' * R. Tucker Abbott – S''eashells of South East Asia''

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chicoreus Capucinus Chicoreus Gastropods described in 1822 Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck