Bolinus brandaris (purple dye murex snail) (24757422736)

Description:

Description: Bolinus brandaris (Linnaeus, 1758) - purple dye murex snail (apertural view) (public display, Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum, Sanibel Island, Florida, USA). The gastropods (snails & slugs) are a group of molluscs that occupy marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments. Most gastropods have a calcareous external shell (the snails). Some lack a shell completely, or have reduced internal shells (the slugs & sea slugs & pteropods). Most members of the Gastropoda are marine. Most marine snails are herbivores (algae grazers) or predators/carnivores. The purple dye murex snail shown above is part of the Lusitanian Province: "Concentrated in the mild temperatures of the Mediterranean Sea, and extending to the warmer waters of the Canary Islands and the cooler areas of France and Great Britain, is a fairly rich fauna. These waters support dozens of unique species, such as Jacob's scallop, the oxheart cockle and the European pelican's foot." [info. from museum signage] Classification: Animalia, Mollusca, Gastropoda, Neogastropoda, Muricidae Locality: unrecorded/undisclosed/unspecified More info. at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolinus_brandaris. Date: 2 January 2016, 15:28. Source: Bolinus brandaris (purple dye murex snail). Author: James St. John.