Chicoreus torrefactus

Chicoreus torrefactus, common name the firebrand murex, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.^[1]

Chicoreus torrefactus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Family:	Muricidae
Genus:	Chicoreus
Species:	C. torrefactus
Binomial name
Chicoreus torrefactus (Sowerby, 1841)
Synonyms[1]
Chicoreus (Chicoreus) kilburni Houart & Pain, 1982 Chicoreus (Triplex) torrefactus (Sowerby II, 1841) Chicoreus rubiginosus (Reeve, 1845) Murex affinis Reeve, 1846 Murex benedictinus Lobbecke, 1879 Murex rochebruni Poirier, 1883 Murex rubiginosus Reeve, 1845 Murex torrefactus Sowerby, 1841 Murex tubulatus Mörch, 1852

Shell of Chicoreus torrefactus (Sowerby, 1841) measuring 102.2 mm in height, found on rocks in shallow water at Minabe, in Japan.

Description

The size of an adult shell varies between 60 mm and 160 mm. This common species of sea snail is often used for food and shellcraft. In some localities, populations have been greatly reduced because of over collecting.^[2] The specie can also be found in shallow subtidal waters.

Distribution

This species occurs in the Indian Ocean off Chagos, Madagascar, the Mascarene Basin, Tanzania and Durban, South Africa.