The Coralliophilidae, or coral shells are a world wide family of tropical mollusks that, as the name implies, are coral dwellers. There are over 200 known species in the family, most living in rather deep water. The lack of living material for study has made the identification and relationship between the species rather difficult. Eleven genera are currently recognized in the Family, though the morphological characteristics do not differ greatly among the species. Species in the genus Babelomurex are extremely popular due to the extreme variation of shapes and spines.

ECOLOGY: Coralliophilids are found intertidally down to extremely deep water. Many of the most spectacular and spiny Babelomurex come up in tangle nets set at depths below 150 meters of water. Coraliophilids as the name suggest are found on living reefs. In fact, species in the genus Magilus live and grow as part of the base of coral stands.

TAXONOMY: In recent years the taxonomic trend is to place the "Latiaxis" into the Family Muricidae, Subfamily Coralliophilinae. For the sake of organization and clarity, the classification of the group here remains as the Family Coralliophilidae.

LITERATURE: The most comprehensive publication on the coral shells in recent years is a softcover publication entitled, "Illustrated Catalogue of Latiaxis and Its Related Groups, Family Coralliophilidae" by S.Kosuge and M. Suzuki [Institue of Malacology of Tokyo, Special Publication No. 1]. It currently out-of-print, but copies seem to frequently turn up for sale on the Internet.














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CORALLIOPHILIDAE CLASSIFICATION

Phylum: MOLLUSCA (Linné, 1758) Cuvier, 1795

Class: GASTROPODA Cuvier, 1797

Subclass: ORTHOGASTROPODA Ponder & Lindberg, 1996

Superorder: CAENOGASTROPODA Cox, 1960

Order: SORBEOCONCHA Ponder & Lindberg, 1997

Suborder: HYPSOGASTROPODA Ponder & Lindberg, 1997

Infraorder: NEOGASTROPODA Thiele, 1929

      Superfamily: MURICOIDEA da Costa, 1776

Family: CORALLIOPHILIDAE Hoyle, 1888

Highlight then click the name for additional classification information.

CORALLIOPHILIDAE GENERA
  • Babelomurex
    		•
  • Coralliophila
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  • Emozamia
    		•
  • Hirtomurex
    		•
  • Latiaxis
    		•
  • Magilus
    		•
  • Mipus
    		•
  • Quoyula
    		•
  • Rapa
    		•
  • Reliquiaecava
    		•
  • Rhizochilus
    		•
    Taxonomic Ref.: Millard, V. 1997. Classification of the Mollusca :A classification of worldwide Mollusca. 1-544.
    Genus: Babelomurex back to menutop of page
    BABELOMUREX Coen, 1922  >
    Babelomurex Coen, 1922. Type species (o.d.): Fusus babelis Requien, 1848; Kosuge & Suzuki, 1985: 9; Vaught, 1989: 45.
    Ref.: Millard, V. 1997. Classification of the Mollusca p.148.    		 Babelomurex armatusBabelomurex armatus (Sowerby III, 1912) - Philippines, 50mm - exceptionally large and well developed specimen. Taken from tangle nets set in deep water. From the collection of Travis Payne. Ref.: . Babelomurex pagodusBabelomurex (Babelomurex) pagodus pagodus (A. Adams, 1853 in H. & A. Adams, 1853-58) - Indonesia, 36-38mm - The species is quite variable and the nomenclature has been confusing. The name pagodus has been used in various combinations - Babelomurex pagodus spinosus (Shikama, 1966) and Babelomurex pagodus spinosus (DALL, 1925). The illustrated shells are the true B. pagodus. The species inhabits depths of ± 50 meters of water. Ref.: .
    Babelomurex ricinuloidesBabelomurex ricinuloides (Schepman, 1911) - Philippines, 34mm - One of the truly spectacular Latiaxis species. This specimen exhibits exceptional spine ornamentation. From the collection of Travis Payne. Ref.: .    
    Genus: Coralliophila back to menutop of page
    CORALLIOPHILA H. & A. Adams, 1853  >
    Coralliophila H. & A. Adams, 1853. Type species (o.d.): Fusus neritoideus Lamarck, 1816, Kosuge & Suzuki, 1985: 28, Vaught, 1989: 45'Le Renard, 1996: 68; Caralliophila Kosuge & Suzuki, 1985 (err.), Coralliophora Dall, 1889;,Latimurex Coen, 1922, Lepadomurex Coen, 1922, Latiromurex auctt., Aradomurex Coen, 1943, Aradasia Settepassi, 1970 ? (non Gray, 1850), Fusomurex Coen, 1922; Pseudomurex Monterosato, 1872; Subgenus: CORALLIOBIA H. & A. Adams, 1853; Subgenus: CORALLIOFUSUS Kuroda, 1953.
    Ref.: Millard, V. 1997. Classification of the Mollusca p.148.    		 Coralliophila sofiaeCoralliophila sofiae (Aradas, A. & Benoit, 1876) - Spain, 34-35mm - synonym: C. serrata (Coen, 1929). Ref.: . Coralliophila sp.Coralliophila sp. - Colombia, 22mm - taken in trawling net of local fishing boat. Ref.: .
    Coralliophila sp.Coralliophila sp. - Hawaii - another unidentified deep water species. The damaged canal of this specimen indicates that the species probably has a rather extended siphonal canal. Collection of and photo by Mike Severns. Ref.: .    
    Genus: Emozamia back to menutop of page
    EMOZAMIA Iredale, 1929  >
    Emozamia Iredale, 1929. Type species (o.d.): Murex licinus Hedley & Pettard, 1906; Kosuge & Suzuki, 1985: 43.
    Ref.: Millard, V. 1997. Classification of the Mollusca p.148.    		 Emozamia licinusEmozamia licinus (Hedley and Petterd, 1906) - Australia, to 27mm - a deep water species. Two other species have been classified in this genus -- E. jarli (Knudsen, 1956) - Eastern Atlantic Ocean; and Emozamia richardi. (Fischer, 1882) - Atlantic Ocean - Gulf of Mexico; the latter amended to the genus Coralliophila. (re: Malacolog). Ref.: .  
    Genus: Hirtomurex back to menutop of page
    HIRTOMUREX Coen, 1922  >
    Hirtomurex Coen, 1922. Type species (o.d.): Fusus lamellosa Philippi, 1836; Kosuge & Suzuki, 1985: 25.
    Ref.: Millard, V. 1997. Classification of the Mollusca p.148.    		 Hirtomurex filiaregisHirtomurex filiaregis (Kurohara, 1959) - Philippines, 48mm. Ref.: . Hirtomurex teramachiiHirtomurex teramachii (Kuroda, T., 1959) - Philippines, 41.5mm - one of the more highly sculptured Latiaxis species. Quite uncommon. Ref.: .
    Hirtomurex teramachiiHirtomurex teramachii (Kuroda, 1959) - Philippines, 51mm - multiple views illustrate the intricate, almost frilly sculpture of this species. Ref.: .    
    Genus: Latiaxis back to menutop of page
    LATIAXIS Swainson, 1840  >
    Latiaxis Swainson, 1840. Type species (o.d.): Pyrula mawae Griffith & Pidgeon, 1834; Kosuge & Suzuki, 1985: 5; Vaught, 1989: 45; Le Renard, 1996: 69, Langfordia Dall, 1924, Tolema Iredale, 1929; Subgenus: ECHINOLATIAXIS Kosuge, 1979, Babelomurex (Echinolatiaxis); Vaught, 1989: 45; Subgenus: LAEVILATIAXIS Kosuge, 1979 Babelomurex (Laevilatiaxis); Vaught, 1989: 45; Subgenus: LAMELLATIAXIS Habe & Kosuge, 1970, Babelomurex (Lamellatiaxis); Vaught, 1989: 45; Subgenus: TARANTELLAXIS Habe, 1970, Babelomurex (Tarantellaxis); Vaught, 1989: 45.
    Ref.: Millard, V. 1997. Classification of the Mollusca p.148.    		 Latiaxis mawaeLatiaxis mawae (Griffith & Pidgeon, 1834) - Philippines, 61mm. Ref.: .  
    Genus: Magilus back to menutop of page
    MAGILUS Montfort, 1810  >
    Magilus Montfort, 1810. Type species (o.d.): Magilus antiquus Montfort, 1810; Kosuge & Suzuki, 1985: 45 Magilopsis Sowerby, 1919, Leptoconchus Rüppell, 1834.
    Ref.: Millard, V. 1997. Classification of the Mollusca p.148.    		    
    Genus: Mipus back to menutop of page
    MIPUS de Gregorio, 1885  >
    Mipus de Gregorio, 1885. Type species (o.d.): Trophon gyratus Hind, 1884; Kosuge & Suzuki, 1985: 6 Rhombothais Wollacott, 1954.
    Ref.: Millard, V. 1997. Classification of the Mollusca p.148.    		 Coralliophila sp.Mipus cf. hotei Kosuge, 1985 - Hawaii - taken from deep water traps off the Hawaiian Ids. The known range of this species is Japan and the Philippines. If this identification is correct, this is a range extension of the species. Collection of and photo by Mike Severns. Ref.: . Mipus vicdaniMipus vicdani (Kosuge, 1980) - Philippines, 48-49mm - type locality: Davao, Mindanao Island. A unique species with a tropical Indo-Pacific distribution. Ref.: .
    Genus: Quoyula back to menutop of page
    QUOYULA Iredale, 1912  >
    Quoyula Iredale, 1912. Type species (o.d.): Purpura monodonta Quoy & Gaimard, 1833, Voy. Astrolabe, Zoology: 2, p. 561, pl. 37, figs. 9, 11.
    Ref.: Millard, V. 1997. Classification of the Mollusca.    		 Quoyula madreporarumQuoyula madreporarum (Sowerby, 1834) - Micronesia, 10-19mm. Ref.: .  
    Genus: Rapa back to menutop of page
    RAPA Röding, 1798  >
    Rapa Röding, 1798. Type species (o.d.): Bulla rapa Linne, 1767 [= Murex rapa Linne, 1758]; Kosuge & Suzuki, 1985: 44, Bulbus Herrmannsen, 1848 (non Brown, 1939), Rapanus Schumacher in Sowerby, 1839, Rapella Swainson, 1840.
    Ref.: Millard, V. 1997. Classification of the Mollusca p.148.    		    
    Genus: Reliquiaecava back to menutop of page
    RELIQUIAECAVA Massin, 1987  >
    Reliquiaecava Massin, 1987.
    Ref.: Millard, V. 1997. Classification of the Mollusca p.149.    		    
    Genus: Rhizochilus back to menutop of page
    RHIZOCHILUS Steenstrup, 1850  >
    Rhizochilus Steenstrup, 1850. Type species: Rhizochilus antipathum. Overs. K. Danske Vidensk. Salsk. Forh. 1850: 75.
    Ref.: Millard, V. 1997. Classification of the Mollusca p.149.    		    
    back to menutop of page