shelled snails text index | photo index
Phylum Mollusca > Class Gastropoda > Family Muricidae
Firebrand murex snail
Chicoreus torrefactus*
Family Muricidae
updated Aug 09

Where seen? This large but well camouflaged snail is usually found on boulders, rocks and hard surfaces near coral reefs at the low water mark.

Features: 5-7cm long. Shell thick with rows of fronds or spikes along the length of the shell. There are usually three spikes along the siphonal canal. The shell opening is white. Operculum is made of a horn-like material.

What does it eat? Like other drills in the Family Muricidae, this snail can also drill through shells. According to Tan, they have been seen to feed extensively on the bivalve Gafrarium by drilling a neat hole through the shell.

Tanah Merah, Aug 09

Firebrand murex on Singapore shores

Tanah Merah, Dec 09


Tanah Merah, Dec 09


Sisters Island, Aug 09
Photo shared by Loh Kok Sheng on his blog.

Terumbu Salu, Jan 10


*Species are difficult to positively identify without close examination.
On this website, they are grouped by external features for convenience of display.

References

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