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Etymology

The term murex originates from the Latin word mūrex, likely related to the Greek word μύαξ (myax), meaning sea mussel. The connection between these terms suggests a shared linguistic root, possibly linked to the Greek word μῦς (mys), meaning "mouse," due to the perceived resemblance between the shape of certain mollusks and mice.³

Fossil records

This genus is known in the fossil records from the Cretaceous to the Quaternary (age range: from 125.45 to 0.0 million years ago). Fossils of species within this genus have been found all over the world. There are about 25 known extinct species.⁴

Distribution

Murex is solely an Indo-Pacific genus, as demonstrated by Ponder & Vokes (1988). The species from the western Atlantic that were formerly considered to belong to the genus Murex are now placed in the genus Haustellum.

Habitat

Most Murex species live in the intertidal or shallow subtidal zone, among rocks and corals.

Shell description

This genus includes many showy members, their elongate shells highly sculptured with spines or fronds. The inner surfaces of their ornate shells are often brightly colored.

Human use

Costly and labor-intensive dyes Tyrian purple (or "royal purple") and tekhelet were historically made by the ancient Phoenicians, using mucus from the hypobranchial gland of two species commonly referred to as "murex", Murex brandaris and Murex trunculus, which are the older names for Bolinus brandaris and Hexaplex trunculus.⁵ This dye is a rare animal-produced organobromine compound, which the snails make using a specific bromide peroxidase enzyme that operates on dissolved bromide in sea water.⁶

This dye was used in royal robes, other kinds of special ceremonial or ritual garments, or garments indicating high rank. It is hypothesised that the dye was the same dye as that which featured prominently in the ancient Temple in Jerusalem, the clothing of the High Priest of Israel officiating there; it is sometimes still used by Jews today in the ritual fringes (tzitzit) on four-cornered garments.⁷ A consensus has yet to be reached regarding the Biblical source of the "blue" dye, though the latest archeological research on dyes in this region indicates that it was indeed the Murex trunculus snail that was used for the famous tekhelet ancient dye.⁸

Species

The genus Murex, as originally defined by Linnaeus, encompassed many taxa that are now placed elsewhere in the superfamily Muricoidea. During the 19th century, the definition of Murex was restricted by Lamarck and his contemporaries first to species in the family Muricidae, and then was limited even further to the subfamilies Muricinae and Ocenebrinae. Malacologists of the 19th century including Kiener, Reeve, Küster & Kobelt and Sowerby treated all muricoid forms as belonging to Murex. This is the main reason why Murex has so many synonyms.

The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) lists the following species with accepted names within the genus Murex. The subgenera are considered alternate representations.⁹

• Murex acanthostephes Watson, 1883¹⁰
• Murex aduncospinosus G.B. Sowerby II, 1841:¹¹
• Murex africanus Ponder & Vokes, 1988¹²
• Murex altispira Ponder & Vokes, 1988¹³ Caltrop murex
• Murex antelmei Viader, 1938
• † Murex bonneti Cossmann, 1903
• Murex brevispina Lamarck, 1822 Short-spined murex
• † Murex camplytropis Tate, 1888
• Murex carbonnieri (Jousseaume, 1881)¹⁴ Carbonnier's murex
• Murex concinnus Reeve, 1845¹⁵
• Murex coppingeri E. A. Smith, 1884¹⁶
• † Murex crassiliratus Tate, 1888
• Murex djarianensis Martin, 1895
  • Murex djarianensis poppei¹⁷ (synonym : Murex (Murex) poppei Houart, 1979)
• Murex echinodes Houart, 2011
• Murex falsitribulus Ponder & Vokes, 1988¹⁸
• Murex forskoehlio Röding, 1798¹⁹
• † Murex grooti H. M. Jenkins, 1864
• † Murex guppyi Ladd, 1977
• † Murex halli d'Archiac & Haime, 1854
• Murex huangi Houart, 2010
• Murex hystricosus Houart & Dharma, 2001²⁰
• Murex indicus Houart, 2011
• † Murex irregularis Tate, 1888
• Murex kerslakae Ponder & Vokes, 1988²¹
• † Murex lyelli d'Archiac & Haime, 1854 (accepted > unreplaced junior homonym)
• Murex megapex Neubert, 1998²²
• † Murex minutus R. M. Johnston, 1880
• † Murex nasongoensis Ladd, 1977
• † Murex noae Holten, 1802
• Murex occa G.B. Sowerby II, 1834²³ Harrowed murex
• † Murex paradoxicus H. M. Jenkins, 1864
• Murex pecten Lightfoot, 1786²⁴ ': Venus comb murex
  • Murex pecten soelae
• Murex philippinensis Parth, 1994²⁵
• Murex protocrassus Houart, 1990
• Murex queenslandicus Ponder & Vokes, 1988²⁶
• † Murex roemeri d'Archiac & Haime, 1854
• Murex salomonensis Parth, 1994²⁷
• Murex scolopax Dillwyn, 1817²⁸ False venus comb, woodcock murex
• Murex somalicus Parth, 1990²⁹
• Murex spectabilis Ponder & Vokes, 1988³⁰
• Murex spicatus Ponder & Vokes, 1988³¹
• Murex spinastreptos Houart, 2010
• † Murex spinicosta Bronn, 1831
• Murex surinamensis Okutani, 1982³²
• Murex suttipraneeae Gra-tes, 2023
• † Murex tchihatcheffi d'Archiac & Haime, 1854
• Murex tenuirostrum Lamarck, 1822³³
• Murex ternispina Lamarck, 1822³⁴
• Murex trapa Roding, 1798³⁵ Rare-spined murex
• Murex tribulus Linnaeus, 1758, 1758:³⁶ Caltrop murex
  • Murex tribulus spicatus
  • Murex tribulus tenuirostrum
  • Murex tribulus tenuirostrum africanus
  • Murex tribulus ternispina
• Murex troscheli Lischke, 1868³⁷ Troschel's murex

• Murex singaporensis A.Adams, 1853³⁸

• Murex aedonius Watson, 1896:³⁹ synonym of Coralliophila aedonia (Watson, 1885)
• Murex afer Gmelin, 1791: synonym of Afer afer (Gmelin, 1791)
• Murex alocatus: synonym of Pterymarchia barclayana (H. Adams, 1873)
• Murex antillarum : Antilles murex: synonym of Siratus articulatus (Reeve, 1845)
• Murex argo Clench & Farfante, 1945:⁴⁰ synonym of Chicoreus (Triplex) spectrum (Reeve, 1846)
• Murex belcheri Hinds, 1843 : synonym of Forreria belcheri (Hinds, 1843)
• Murex bellus Reeve, 1845: synonym of Vokesimurex bellus (Reeve, 1845)
• Murex blakeanus Vokes, 1967:⁴¹ synonym of Vokesimurex blakeanus (Vokes, 1967)
• Murex brandaris Linnaeus, 1758: synonym of Bolinus brandaris (Linnaeus, 1758)
• Murex canaliculatus Linnaeus, 1758: synonym of Busycotypus canaliculatus (Linnaeus, 1758)
• Murex capitellum Linnaeus, 1758: synonym of Vasum capitellum (Linnaeus, 1758)
• Murex corallinus Scacchi, 1836: synonym of Ocinebrina aciculata (Lamarck, 1822)
• Murex corneus Linnaeus, 1758: synonym of Euthria cornea (Linnaeus, 1758)
• Murex coronatus Born, 1778: synonym of Pseudovertagus aluco (Linnaeus, 1758)
• Murex edwardsii:⁴² synonym of Ocinebrina edwardsii (Payraudeau, 1826)
• Murex garciai Petuch, 1987: synonym of Vokesimurex garciai (Petuch, 1987)
• Murex gubbi Reeve, 1849:⁴³ synonym of Chicocenebra gubbi (Reeve, 1849)
• Murex inconspicuus G.B. Sowerby II, 1841: synonym of Ocinebrina aciculata (Lamarck, 1822)
• Murex intertextus Helbling, 1779:⁴⁴ synonym of Cumia reticulata
• Murex jickelii Tapparone Canefri, 1875: synonym of Naquetia jickelii (Tapparone Canefri, 1875)
• Murex lindajoycae Petuch, 1987: synonym of Vokesimurex lindajoycae (Petuch, 1987)
• Murex longicornis Dunker, 1864: synonym of Chicoreus longicornis (Dunker, 1864)
• Murex maroccensis Gmelin, 1791:⁴⁵ synonym of Fusinus maroccensis
• Murex monodon Sowerby, 1825:⁴⁶ synonym of Chicoreus (Chicoreus) cornucervi (Röding, 1798)
• Murex nassa Gmelin, 1791:⁴⁷ synonym of Leucozonia nassa (Gmelin, 1791)
• Murex nebula Montagu, 1803: synonym of Bela nebula (Montagu, 1803)
• Murex peritus Hinds, 1844a:⁴⁸ synonym of Favartia (Favartia) perita (Hinds, 1844)
• Murex pistacia Reeve, 1845: synonym of Ocinebrina aciculata (Lamarck, 1822)
• Murex purpuroides Dunker:⁴⁹ synonym of Vaughtia purpuroides (Reeve, 1845)
• Murex recurvirostris:⁵⁰ synonym of Vokesimurex recurvirostrum (Broderip, 1833)
• Murex rota Sowerby:⁵¹ synonym of Homalocantha anatomica (Perry, 1811)
• Murex rubidus:⁵² synonym of Vokesimurex rubidus (F.C. Baker, 1897)
• Murex serratospinosus Dunker, 1883: synonym of Vokesimurex mindanaoensis (G.B. Sowerby II, 1841)
• Murex subaciculatus Locard, 1886: synonym of Ocinebrina aciculata (Lamarck, 1822)
• Murex taxus Dillwyn, 1817: synonym of Clavatula taxea (Röding, 1798)
• † Murex textilis Brocchi, 1814:⁵³ synonym of † Rimosodaphnella textilis (Brocchi, 1814)
• Murex triqueter:⁵⁴ synonym of Naquetia triqueter (Born, 1778)
• Murex tulipa Linnaeus, 1758:⁵⁵ synonym of Fasciolaria tulipa (Linnaeus, 1758)
• Murex turbinellus Linnaeus, 1758: synonym of Vasum turbinellus (Linnaeus, 1758)
• Murex vittatus Broderip, 1833:⁵⁶ synonym of Favartia (Favartia) vittata (Broderip, 1833)

• Merle, D., Garrigues, B. & Pointier, J.-P. 2011. Fossil and Recent Muricidae of the World, Part Muricinae. 648 pp., 182 colour plates, Hackenheim. ISBN 978-3-939767-32-9.
• Ponder, W.F. & E.H. Vokes. 1988. A revision of the Indo-West Pacific fossil and Recent species of Murex s.s. and Haustellum (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Muricidae). Records of the Australian Museum, Supplement 8. 160 pp.

External links

• Aristotle, 350 B.C.E. A history of animals
• Sowerby, G. B. II. (1874). Monograph of the genus Mitra. In G. B. Sowerby II (ed.), Thesaurus conchyliorum, or monographs of genera of shells. Vol. 4 (31-32): 1–46, pls 352–379. London, privately published

References

1. Houart, R.; Gofas, S. (2010). Murex Linnaeus, 1758. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=138196 on 2011-04-09 http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=138196 ↩

2. Aristotle. (1902). History of animals in ten books. London: G. Bell. https://dx.doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.19197 ↩

3. "murex | Etymology of murex by etymonline". www.etymonline.com. Retrieved 28 November 2024. https://www.etymonline.com/word/murex ↩

4. Fossilworks https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=11385 ↩

5. Sukenik, Naama; Iluz, David; Amar, Zohar; Varvak, Alexander; Shamir, Orit; Ben-Yosef, Erez (2021). "Early evidence of royal purple dyed textile from Timna Valley (Israel)". PLOS ONE. 16 (1): e0245897. Bibcode:2021PLoSO..1645897S. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0245897. PMC 7842898. PMID 33507987. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7842898 ↩

6. Jannun R., Nuwayhid N. and Coe E. (1981) Biological bromination – bromoperoxidase activity in the Murex sea-snail. FASEB. J. 40, 1774. ↩

7. Tekhelet - Biblical Blue Dye for Tzitzit http://www.tekhelet.com ↩

8. Newman, Marissa. "Linking ancient snails to an Israeli flag in space, a common thread". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2 February 2025. https://www.timesofisrael.com/linking-ancient-snails-to-an-israeli-flag-in-space-a-common-thread/ ↩

9. WoRMS : Murex 23 December 2010 http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=138196 ↩

10. Murex acanthostephes Watson, 1883. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=398813 ↩

11. ^Houart, R. (2009). Murex aduncospinosus Sowerby, 1841. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=215644 on 2010-08-06 http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=215644 ↩

12. Murex africanus Ponder & Vokes, 1988. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404972 ↩

13. Murex altispira Ponder & Vokes, 1988. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=398836 ↩

14. Murex carbonnieri (Jousseaume, 1881). Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404223 ↩

15. Murex concinnus Reeve, 1845. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404264 ↩

16. Murex coppingeri E. A. Smith, 1884. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404266 ↩

17. Houart, R. (2009). Murex djarianensis poppei Houart, 1979. Accessed through the World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404977 on 2010-08-06 http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404977 ↩

18. Murex falsitribulus Ponder & Vokes, 1988. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404363 ↩

19. Murex forskoehli Röding, 1798. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=463926 ↩

20. Murex hystricosus Houart & Dharma, 2001. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404504 ↩

21. Murex kerslakae Ponder & Vokes, 1988. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404526 ↩

22. Murex megapex Neubert, 1998. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404619 ↩

23. Murex occa Sowerby, 1834. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404659 ↩

24. Murex pecten Lightfoot, 1786. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=215663 ↩

25. Murex philippinensis Parth, 1994. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404697 ↩

26. Murex queenslandicus Ponder & Vokes, 1988. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404728 ↩

27. Murex salomonensis Parth, 1994. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404800 ↩

28. Murex scolopax Dillwyn, 1817. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=215637 ↩

29. Murex somalicus Parth, 1990. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404826 ↩

30. Murex spectabilis Ponder & Vokes, 1988. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404829 ↩

31. Murex spicatus Ponder & Vokes, 1988. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404832 ↩

32. Murex surinamensis Okutani, 1982. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404850 ↩

33. Murex tenuirostrum Lamarck, 1822. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404859 ↩

34. Murex ternispina Lamarck, 1822. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=215662 ↩

35. Murex trapa Roding, 1798. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404879 ↩

36. Murex tribulus Linnaeus, 1758. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=215641 ↩

37. Murex troscheli Lischke, 1868. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404897 ↩

38. Indo-Pacific Molluscan Database : Murex (Murex) singaporensis http://clade.ansp.org/obis/search.php/78425 ↩

39. Murex aedonius Watson, 1896. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404033 ↩

40. Murex argo Clench & Farfante, 1945. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404013 ↩

41. Murex blakeanus Vokes, 1967. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404052 ↩

42. Murex edwardsi. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404328 ↩

43. Murex gubbi Reeve, 1849. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404485 ↩

44. Murex intertextus Helbling, 1779. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=447212 ↩

45. Murex maroccensis Gmelin, 1791. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=447206 ↩

46. Murex monodon Sowerby, 1841. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404048 ↩

47. Murex nassa Gmelin, 1791. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=447213 ↩

48. Murex peritus Hinds, 1844a. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404692 ↩

49. Murex purpuroides Dunker. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=215660 ↩

50. Murex recurvirostris. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404738 ↩

51. Murex rota Sowerby. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=215633 ↩

52. Murex rubidus. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404752 ↩

53. Murex textilis Gabb, 1873. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=408592 ↩

54. Murex triqueter. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404016 ↩

55. Murex tulipa Linnaeus, 1758. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=447198 ↩

56. Murex vittatus Broderip, 1833. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=404941 ↩