General Description

Shell pale white-cream to brown. Shell with three tall thin ridges, one forming an extended lip around the aperture. Ridges unbranched and lacking horns. Rounded lumps (knuckles) between the ridges. Aperture shape complex; an oval shape with a narrow channel extending to the front of the shell (forming a "p" shape) and another, shallower, running sideways from the shoulder into the external sculpture. Shell up to 6 cm long.

Biology

These snails are one of several murex species in southern Australia. They differ by having various forms of ridges including spiked, curled and branched. Like most snails in this family, they are predators, feeding on gastropods, bivalves and barnacles by drilling holes through the shells of their prey. Fresh shells have ornate sculpture but they are often badly damaged by the time they wash up onto beaches.

Distribution

Southern mainland Australia and Tasmania.

Habitat

Rock pools and subtidal areas of sheltered and exposed coast.

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