''Morula echinata'', common name the prickled-armed ricinula, 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.
Description
The length of the shell varies between 7 mm and 10 mm.
Distribution
This marine species occurs in the tropical Indo-West Pacific; also off
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
and Australia (
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
).
References
* Reeve, L.A. 1846. ''Monograph of the genus Ricinula''. pls 1–6 in Reeve, L.A. (ed). Conchologia Iconica. London : L. Reeve & Co. Vol. 3.
Plate 6(fig. 54) an
unnumbered page* Pease, W.H. 1860. ''Descriptions of new species of Mollusca from the Sandwich Islands, Part II''. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 28: 141–148
* Cernohorsky, W.O. 1969. ''The Muricidae of Fiji. Part 2. Subfamily Thaidinae''. Veliger 11(4): 293–315
* Cernohorsky, W.O. 1978. ''Tropical Pacific Marine Shells.'' Sydney : Pacific Publications 352 pp., 68 pls.
* Wilson, B. 1994. ''Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranch Gastropods''. Kallaroo, WA : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 2 370 pp.
* Houart, R. 2002. ''Comments on a group of small Morula s.s. species (Gastropoda: Muricidae: Rapaninae) from the Indo-Pacific with the description of two new species''. Novapex 3(4): 97–118
External links
*
echinata
Gastropods described in 1846
{{Ergalataxinae-stub