|
Hexaplex fulvescens (G. B. Sowerby II, 1834) Giant Eastern Murex |
|
|
Hexaplex fulvescens G. B. Sowerby II, 1834 is the largest muricid found in the Western Atlantic. Possessing a massive spinose shell, this species can attain a length of 213 mm (about 8 1/2 inches). The species ranges from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, to Cape Canaveral, Florida, and the in the Gulf of Mexico from off Cedar Key, Florida, to off southern Texas. While the species is by no means uncommon and can occasionally be found in shallow inshore waters such as near the St. Johns River Jetties in the Jacksonville area, it is much more often found off-shore by SCUBA divers or trawled by commercial scallop fisherman. As with other Muricidae, the snail is an active carnivore which preys on other mollusks. The Giant Eastern Murex was designated as the official club shell of the Jacksonville Shell Club in August of 1975. |
|
|
|
|
|
By diver in 90-120 feet of water off Panama City, Florida (about 140 mm.) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
