Drupa morum
Encyclopedia
Drupa morum, common name
the purple drupe, is a species
of sea snail
, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family
Muricidae
, the murex snails or rock snails.
, up to 5 cm, with low spire
, large body whorl
and flat base. Colour white with dark brown nodules. Dark violet, narrow aperture
with conspicuous groups of denticles. Columella with three strong, plicate ridges.
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
the purple drupe, is a species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of sea snail
Sea snail
Sea snail is a common name for those snails that normally live in saltwater, marine gastropod molluscs....
, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Muricidae
Muricidae
Muricidae, common name murex snails or rock snails, is a large and varied taxonomic family of small to large predatory sea snails. With approximately 1,600 living species the Muricidae represent almost 10% of the Neogastropoda. Additionally, 1,200 fossil species have been recognised...
, the murex snails or rock snails.
Subspecies
- Drupa (Drupa) morum iodostoma (Lesson, 1840) (synonym : Purpura (Ricinula) iodostoma Lesson, 1840 )
- Drupa (Drupa) morum morum Röding, 1798 (synonyms : Canrena neritoidea Link, 1807; Drupa horrida (Lamarck, 1816), Drupa morum Röding, 1798, Drupa violacea (Schumacher, 1817); Ricinella violacea Schumacher, 1817; Ricinula globosa Mörch, 1852; Ricinula horrida Lamarck, 1816)
Description
Thick, globose shellGastropod shell
The gastropod shell is a shell which is part of the body of a gastropod or snail, one kind of mollusc. The gastropod shell is an external skeleton or exoskeleton, which serves not only for muscle attachment, but also for protection from predators and from mechanical damage...
, up to 5 cm, with low spire
Spire (mollusc)
A spire is a descriptive term for part of the coiled shell of mollusks. The word is a convenient aid in describing shells, but it does not refer to a very precise part of shell anatomy: the spire consists of all of the whorls except for the body whorl...
, large body whorl
Body whorl
Body whorl is part of the morphology of a coiled gastropod mollusk.- In gastropods :In gastropods, the body whorl, or last whorl, is the most recently-formed and largest whorl of a spiral or helical shell, terminating in the aperture...
and flat base. Colour white with dark brown nodules. Dark violet, narrow aperture
Aperture (mollusc)
The aperture is an opening in certain kinds of mollusc shells: it is the main opening of the shell, where part of the body of the animal emerges for locomotion, feeding, etc....
with conspicuous groups of denticles. Columella with three strong, plicate ridges.
Distribution
Drupa (Drupa) morum lives in the Indo-Pacific.- AldabraAldabraAldabra, the world's second largest coral atoll, is in the Aldabra Group of islands in the Indian Ocean that form part of the Seychelles. Uninhabited and extremely isolated, Aldabra is virtually untouched by humans, has distinctive island fauna including the Aldabra Giant Tortoise, and is...
- Chagos
- Kenya
- Mascarene Basin
- Mauritius
- Red Sea
- Tanzania