Endive Murex

Endive Murex

Endive Murex
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Superfamily: Muricoidea
Family: Muricidae
Genus: Hexaplex
Species: H. cichoreum
Scientific name: Hexaplex cichoreum

   Hexaplex cichoreum, or known by its common name the "Endive Murex", is a medium-sized species of mollusk. The short spire of the shell consists of eight to nine ventricose whorls that become flat-shouldered and thick with age. They are transversely ridged and striated. They show six to seven frondose varices, with the fronds elevated and recurved. The umbilicus is rather large and deep. Its color is yellowish-brown, frequently banded with a darker tint. The fronds are usually dark brown or blackish. The white, almost round aperture has a rather long, open posterior siphonal canal that gradually widens, but is narrow and turns to the right at the beginning. lips are tinged with pink. There is also an all-white variety (var. albicans) from the Philippines.
   Distribution is restricted to the West Pacific regions including Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines.