Phyllonotus margaritensis

Phyllonotus margaritensis, common name the Margarita Murex, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.[1]

Phyllonotus margaritensis
Shell of Phyllonotus margaritensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Neogastropoda
Superfamily:
Muricoidea
Family:
Muricidae
Subfamily:
Muricinae
Genus:
Phyllonotus
Species:
P. margaritensis
Binomial name
Phyllonotus margaritensis
(Abbott, 1958)
Synonyms[1]
  • Chicoreus (Phyllonotus) margaritensis (Abbott, 1958)
  • Chicoreus margaritensis (Abbott, 1958)
  • Murex imperialis Swainson, 1831 (Invalid: junior homonym of Murex imperialis Fischer, 1807; Murex margaritensis is a replacement name)
  • Murex margaritensis Abbott, 1958

Description

Shell presents large and strong reaching sizes between 7–11 cm, with 4 or 5 lap varices, varices these are simple, nodular and obtuse, siphonal canal wide and curved. The mouth has colors that can vary from yellow, orange and red and the inner lip is nodulated at the base.[2][3][4][5]

Sexual dimorphism

Studies in relation to the size of males and females suggests that females tend to have Phyllonotus margaritensis size larger than males and greater variation in shape.[6]

Distribution

North Carolina to Florida and Caribbean sea to Brazil.[7] In the Southern Caribbean is noted in: Colombia,[5][8] Venezuela[4][9] and Trinidad.[10]

Habitat

This sea snail is often found in abundance in seagrass beds,[4][5] but also can be observed on rocky areas and reef areas at lower densities.[11] It has been collected in a bathymetric range from 0 to 200 m.[7] This muricid is an active predator of bivalves such as sand-dwelling clams.[12]

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References
  1. Phyllonotus margaritensis (Abbott, 1958). Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 23 June 2011.
  2. Warmke, Germaine L. & Abbott, R Tucker. 1961. Caribbean Seashells. Livingston Publishing Company. Narbeth. Pennsylvania.
  3. Morris, A. P. 1973. A Field Guide to Shells of the Atlamtic and Gulf Coasts and the West Indies. Hougmon Mifflin Co Boston.
  4. Macsotay O. & Campos. R. 2001. Moluscos representativos de la plataforma de Margarita. Editora Rivolta. Valencia. 280p. ISBN 980-328-808-3
  5. Arias Isaza, Francisco A. y col. 2011. Distribución y abundancia de las poblaciones de gasterópodos de importancia comercial en La Guajira, Caribe Colombiano. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras José Benito Vives de Andréis. (INVEMAR). Santa Marta. 33p. ISBN 978-958-8448-35-0
  6. Galindo Pérez, Lee Ann. 2009. Estudio morfométrico del dimorfismo sexual de las conchas de especies de Gastrópodos marinos comunes (Mollusca: Gastropoda) en Venezuela. Universidad de Oriente. Trabajo de Grado presentado como requisito parcial para optar al título de Magister Scientiarum en Ciencias Marinas, Mención Biología Marina. Cumaná. 244p.
  7. Leal, J.H. Gastropods. The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum
  8. Díaz, J.M. y Puyana, M. 1994. Moluscos del Caaribe colombiano. Un catálogo ilustrado. COLCIENCIAS, fundación Natura e INVEMAR, Bogatá. 367p.
  9. Capelo, J.C. y J. Buitrago. 1998. Distribución de los moluscos marinos en el oriente de de Venezuela. Memoria de la Sociedad de Ciencias Naturales La Salle, 150:109–160.
  10. Malacolog Version 4.1.1 A Database of Western Atlantic Marine Mollusca: Phyllonotus margaritensis (Abbott, 1958). The academic of Natural Science.
  11. Ramos G. Hilda. y Robaina G. German. 1994. Contribucion al conocimiento de los moluscos gasteropodos y pelecipodos de la Bahia de Mochima. Edo. Sucre. Venezuela. Memoria de la Sociedad de Ciencias Naturales La Salle. LIV(141):95–106.
  12. Urosa, L.J. 1972. algunos depredadores del mejillón comestible Perna perna (L.). Boletín del Instituto OCeanográfico. Universidad de Oriente, 11(1):3–18.

Reading
  • Merle D., Garrigues B. & Pointier J.-P. (2011) Fossil and Recent Muricidae of the world. Part Muricinae. Hackenheim: Conchbooks. 648 pp. page(s): 116
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