Poirieria zelandica

Poirieria zelandica
Shell of Poirieria zelandica from New Zealand, on display at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Family:	Muricidae
Genus:	Poirieria
Species:	P. zelandica
Binomial name
Poirieria zelandica (Quoy & Gaimard,1833)
Synonyms
Murex novaezeelandiae Gray, J.E. in Sowerby, G.B. II, 1834

Poirieria zelandica, common name the spiny murex, is a species of large predatory sea snail with an operculum. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Muricidae, the rock snails or murex snails.

Description

Shells of Poirieria zelandica can reach a size of 35–65 millimetres (1.4–2.6 in). These shells are roughly fusiforms, with long, straight spines. The aperture is ovate and large. The outer lip is thin.

Distribution

This species can be found in Tasmania and New Zealand.

Gallery

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  A shallow water, beachworn example of Poirieria zelandicus illustrating an anterior canal still visible from the previous growth stage

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  Shell

References

• Powell A W B, New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
• Glen Pownall, New Zealand Shells and Shellfish, Seven Seas Publishing Pty Ltd, Wellington, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-85467-054-8

Media related to Poirieria zelandica at Wikimedia Commons