Morum dennisoni | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Gastropoda |
Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
Order: | Neogastropoda |
Family: | Harpidae |
Genus: | Morum |
Species: | M. dennisoni
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Binomial name | |
Morum dennisoni (Reeve, 1842)
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Morum dennisoni, commonly referred to as Dennison's Morum, named after John Dennison, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Harpidae, the harp snails.[1]
Specimens taken by shrimp trawlers along the continental shelf of Northern South America have rich red parietal plates
whereas examples taken off West coast Barbados usually have orange parietal plates.
The species has a small vestigial operculum -and a very thin periostracum, and uses miosis to Breed
They are small mollusks, only reaching, on average, 45 mm long. There are outliers, however, that exceed 65 mm. [2]
This species is sometimes trapped or dredged alive off the west coast of Barbados, at depths around 100–170 meters.
Dennison Morum's can be found anywhere as south as Brazil, in South America, to as far North as North Carolina, USA.
This species has been becoming more rare as the years go on due to predation from Shrimp trawling, meaning it is an unwanted bycatch of Fishing.
The shells of Dennison's Morum have been seen in the history books as early as the 1600's, selling at auctions for loads of cash, referred to the "sale of the century" [3]