Vokesimurex messorius, common name the Mesorius murex, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.[1]
| Vokesimurex messorius | |
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| shell of Vokesimurex messorius (museum specimens at MNHN, Paris) | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Order: | Neogastropoda |
| Family: | Muricidae |
| Genus: | Vokesimurex |
| Species: | V. messorius
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| Binomial name | |
| Vokesimurex messorius (G.B. Sowerby II, 1841)
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| Synonyms[1] | |
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- Subspecies
- Murex messorius gustaviensis Nowell-Usticke, G.W., 1969: synonym of Vokesimurex woodringi (Clench & Pérez Farfante, 1945)
Description edit
The size of the shell varies between 43 mm and 90 mm.
(Described as Murex sutilis C. A. White, 1887) The shell is rather small. The body is subglobose. The spire is about equal in height to the breadth of the body portion of the last whorl, exclusive of the aperture. There are three principal varices to each whorl. They are strong, prominent, laterally reflexed, crenulated, and bearing a few slender spines upon their edges, which are arranged in three continuous rows from the apex to the base of the beak. The spaces between the rows of principal varices are each traversed by three or four distinct but slightly raised, secondary varices, and also by numerous revolving raised lines, which are continuous with the crenulations of the varices. The beak is long and slender, its length equal to rather more than two-fifths the full length of the shell from the apex to the point of the beak. The aperture is suboval, a little longer than wide. The length from the apex to the point of the beak is 38 millimeters. The greatest transverse diameter, including two of the varice is, 17 millimeters.[2]
Distribution edit
This species occurs in the Caribbean Sea off Honduras to Suriname and French Guiana; and off St Lucia and Saint Vincent (Antilles), Martinique and Guadeloupe.
References edit
- ^ a b Vokesimurex messorius (Sowerby II, 1841). Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010.
- ^ White, C. A. (1887). Contribuições à Paleontologia do Brasil. Archivos do Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro. 7: 1-273, 27 pls
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- Merle D., Garrigues B. & Pointier J.-P. (2011) Fossil and Recent Muricidae of the world. Part Muricinae. Hackenheim: Conchbooks. 648 pp.
- Houart R. (2014). Living Muricidae of the world. Muricinae. Murex, Promurex, Haustellum, Bolinus, Vokesimurex and Siratus. Harxheim: ConchBooks. 197 pp.
- 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, Attilosa, Acanthotrophon, Favartia, Muricopsis et Pygmaepterys (Mollusca, Gastropoda). Xenophora Taxonomy. 23: 22–59.
External links edit
- Sowerby, G. B. II. (1841). Descriptions of some new species of Murex, principally from the collection of Hugh Cuming, Esq. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 1840: 137-147
- Reeve, L. A. (1845-1849). Monograph of the genus Murex. In: Conchologia Iconica: or, illustrations of the shells of molluscous animals, vol. 3, pls 1-37 and unpaginated text. L. Reeve & Co., London
- "Vokesimurex messorius". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 16 January 2019.