Murex tribulus
species of mollusc
Murex tribulus, the caltrop murex, is a species of large predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Muricidae, the rock snails or murex snails.
Description
The shell of Murex tribulus can reach a length of 65–160 millimetres (2.6–6.3 in). This quite common snail has a shell with a very long siphonal canal and numerous very long, fragile and acute spines, providing protection against predators. It feeds on other mollusks.
Distribution
This species is widespread from Central Indian Ocean to Western Pacific Ocean.
References
"Murex (Murex) tribulus tribulus". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Murex tribulus” is species of mollusc. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Murex, tribulus and species, not as a finished interpretation.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1257150. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2019.
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This entry incorporates text from “Murex tribulus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.