Vokesimurex malabaricus

Vokesimurex malabaricus is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.^[1]

Vokesimurex malabaricus
Shell of Vokesimurex malabaricus (museum specimen Naturalis Biodiversity Center)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Family:	Muricidae
Subfamily:	Muricinae
Genus:	Vokesimurex
Species:	V. malabaricus
Binomial name
Vokesimurex malabaricus (E. A. Smith, 1894)
Synonyms[1]
Haustellum malabaricum (E. A. Smith, 1894) Murex (Murex) tunghaiensis Shikama & Oishi, 1977 Murex malabaricus E. A. Smith, 1894 Murex tunghaiensis Shikama & Oishi in Shikama, 1977 (basionym) Murex tunghaiensis Shikama & Oishi in Shikama, 197

Description

The shell of an adult specimen grows to a length of 106.1 mm.

(Original description) This handsome species is well characterized by its form, the style of coloration, and sculpture. The recurved hollow spine upon the varices about the middle of the upper whorls is a prominent feature in the ornamentation.

The ventricose, fusiform shell contains 9-10 slightly convex whorls. The longitudinal slender ribs, which are nodulous where certain of the transverse lirae cross them, increase in number with the growth of the shell. In the body whorl there are about six in the space between any two varices, five to four on the penultimate, four to three on the preceding volution, two and then only one upon the uppermost whorls.

The transverse colour-bands, when examined closely, are found to consist of groups of coloured lirae.^[2]

Distribution

This marine species can be found in the Persian Gulf and in the Pacific Ocean along Indonesia.