Muricinae
| Muricinae | |
|---|---|
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| An apertural view of a shell of Poirieria zelandica, anterior end towards the bottom of the page | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Neogastropoda |
| Superfamily: | Muricoidea |
| Family: | Muricidae |
| Subfamily: |
Muricinae Rafinesque, 1815 |
| Genera | |
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See text |
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See text
Muricinae is a taxonomic subfamily of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks within the large family Muricidae, the murex snails and rock snails.
The Muricinae represent approximately 780 valid names of fossil (378) and recent (400) species (Merle et al. 2011). This subfamily contains the true Murex, and many other closely related genera.
The subdivision of the Muricidae into ten subfamilies is mainly based on the work of Bouchet & Rocroi (2005), who combined morphological and molecular data in order to define the Muricinae. However, based on latest knowledge this subfamily might represent a polyphyletic group. Traditional the Muricinae are subdivided into five informal groups, which contain 47 genera and subgenera (Merle et al. 2011):
1. Muricinae (s.s.) group
2. Pterynotus-Textilomurex group
3. Basal muricids group
4. Calotrophon-Attiliosa group
5. Aspelloid group
The subfamilial place of the four last groups should be regarded as provisional.
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