Muricidae
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 Chicoreus palmarosae
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Ergalataxinae |
Muricidae is a large family within the gastropod superfamily Muricoidea. At least 1,000 species are known. The spire is usually ornamented with knobs, tubercules, ribs, or spines. Many muricids have episodic growth, which means that the shell grows in spurts, remaining the same size for a while (during which time the varix develops) before rapidly growing to the next size stage. The result is a series of varices on each whorl.
Most species are carnivorous, feeding on other gastropods, on bivalves, and on barnacles.
The family first appears in the fossil record during the Aptian age of the Cretaceous period.
[edit] References
- Rosenberg, Gary (1992) The Encyclopedia of Seashells. New York: Dorset Press.
- Vaught, K.C. (1989) A Classification of the Living Mollusca. American Malacologists, Inc., Melbourne, Florida.
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