Learning through objects from the Islington Education Library Service’s handling collection
Venus Comb Murex
This shell is a Venus comb murex (Murex pectin), a large predatory sea snail found in the Pacific and Indian oceans. This shell has over a hundred spines of varying length. The spines are used for defence and also to stop it from sinking into soft mud.
The long protrusion where the larger spines are attached is called a siphonal canal. This is a long tube that houses an organ used by the snail to suck in water and tell it if there is any food near by. The canal could be considered to be at the front end of the creature as this is the direction in which it moves.
The long protrusion where the larger spines are attached is called a siphonal canal. This is a long tube that houses an organ used by the snail to suck in water and tell it if there is any food near by. The canal could be considered to be at the front end of the creature as this is the direction in which it moves.
This sea snail is a predator and uses its large siphonal canal to hunt for smaller molluscs like clams and barnacles. To reach the soft parts of its prey, the Venus comb murex excretes a softening fluid onto the shell of its victim and then scrapes at it with the hundreds of tiny teeth that line its mouth.
Length:15cm Width:5.5cm
Length:15cm Width:5.5cm
This shell is a Venus comb murex (Murex pectin), a large predatory sea snail found in the Pacific and Indian oceans. This shell has over a hundred spines of varying length. The spines are used for defence and also to stop it from sinking into soft mud.
The long protrusion where the larger spines are attached is called a siphonal canal. This is a long tube that houses an organ used by the snail to suck in water and tell it if there is any food near by. The canal could be considered to be at the front end of the creature as this is the direction in which it moves.
The long protrusion where the larger spines are attached is called a siphonal canal. This is a long tube that houses an organ used by the snail to suck in water and tell it if there is any food near by. The canal could be considered to be at the front end of the creature as this is the direction in which it moves.
This sea snail is a predator and uses its large siphonal canal to hunt for smaller molluscs like clams and barnacles. To reach the soft parts of its prey, the Venus comb murex excretes a softening fluid onto the shell of its victim and then scrapes at it with the hundreds of tiny teeth that line its mouth.
