Pteropurpura trialata

Pteropurpura trialata, the three-winged murex, is a medium-sized species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the rock snails or murex snails. It is native to the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Pteropurpura trialata
Pteropurpura trialata laying eggs.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Neogastropoda
Superfamily:
Muricoidea
Family:
Muricidae
Genus:
Pteropurpura
Species:
P. trialata
Binomial name
Pteropurpura trialata
Synonyms[1]
  • Murex trialatus G. B. Sowerby II, 1834
  • Pterynotus trialatus

Description

The shell can grow to a length of 93 mm (3.7 in).[2] It is fusiform and fairly thick, with a spire angle of 40-42°. The protoconch has one and a half smooth, conical whorls, while the teleoconch has eight whorls which are moderately convex. Each whorl has three elaborately sculptured varices (thickened protruding ridges) with nine to twelve fluted cords extending onto the varices.[3]

Distribution

The three-winged murex occurs in the semi-tropical eastern Pacific Ocean, its range extending from northern California, through Baja California to Mexico.[2]

References
  1. Bouchet, Philippe (2015). "Pteropurpura trialata (G. B. Sowerby II, 1834)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  2. "Pteropurpura (Pteropurpura) trialata trialata". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  3. Browning, M. Ralph (1979). Nemouria: Occasional Papers of the Delaware Museum of Natural History. Delaware Museum of Natural History. p. 118.


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