Bolinus brandaris
Last updated
Holger Krisp · via Wikipedia: Bolinus brandaris · CC BY 3.0
Bolinus brandaris is a medium-sized predatory sea snail in the family Muricidae.[1] It is also known as the purple dye murex or spiny dye-murex.[1] The Phoenicians extracted imperial Tyrian purple dye from this species in ancient times.[2]
Scientific classification
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumMollusca
- ClassGastropoda
- SubclassCaenogastropoda
- OrderNeogastropoda
- FamilyMuricidae
- GenusBolinus
- SpeciesBolinus brandaris
Named by (Linnaeus, 1758)
Close relatives
Other species of Bolinus with a Codexery entry.
- Bolinus cornutus Bolinus cornutus
Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Bolinus brandaris (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 140389 (CC BY 4.0)
How big is it?
Largest length in the source, 0.09 m, next to a 1.8 m person.
Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Bolinus brandaris
Where the bolinus brandaris has been recorded
Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (3,635 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 137 inland records left out (institution coordinates). 1 isolated far-off record not drawn.
Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain)
Quick Facts
- Adult shell size
- 6 to 9 cm / 3.54 in
- Fossil range
- Pliocene (3.6 to 2.588 million years ago)
- Habitat
- Rocks in shallow water
- Shell color
- Golden brown
Facts from the source article.
Biology and range
Bolinus brandaris is an edible marine gastropod mollusc.[1] It was originally described by Linnaeus as Murex brandaris.[1] The GBIF Backbone Taxonomy accepts the species as Bolinus brandaris (Linnaeus, 1758).[3] GBIF holds 4,987 occurrence records for this taxon as of 20 October 2026.[3]
The species belongs to the class Gastropoda and order Neogastropoda.[3] Fossil evidence places Bolinus brandaris in the Pliocene epoch, spanning 3.6 to 2.588 million years ago.[2] Cyprus, Spain, and Italy are locations where fossil shells of this species have been discovered.[2]
What the specialist sources record
The GBIF Backbone Taxonomy lists the species as accepted, with the kingdom Animalia and phylum Mollusca.[3] The same database records the family as Muricidae.[3]
References
- Wikipedia, "Bolinus brandaris" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Bolinus brandaris" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Fossilworks", Fossilworks; McGovern, P. E. and Michel, R. H.; Royal Purple dye: tracing the chemical origins of the industry, Anal. Chem. 1985, 57, 1514A-1522A (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Bolinus brandaris (taxon key 4366020). CC BY 4.0 (backbone); counts are facts. gbif.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Bolinus brandaris (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Murex Snails
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Bolinus brandaris (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Classification: the source article's taxobox; order, family and genus checked against WoRMS, the World Register of Marine Species (CC BY 4.0).
- Occurrence records: GBIF (CC0 / CC BY). Basemap: Natural Earth (public domain).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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