Warning

This information was published in 1966 in An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock. It has not been corrected and will not be updated.

Up-to-date information can be found elsewhere in Te Ara.

MUREX, SPINY

(Poirieria zelandica).

A handsome long-spined white shell up to 2 in. in height. It is often washed ashore on coastal beaches, but the best specimens are found only in deep water. These shells often become tangled in the nets of fishing vessels. The long graceful spines serve as a deterrent to carnivorous fishes. Spiny Murex lives on sandy to muddy bottom, off shore, in from 10 to 50 fathoms.

by Arthur William Baden Powell, Assistant Director, Auckland Institute and Museum.

Co-creator

Arthur William Baden Powell, Assistant Director, Auckland Institute and Museum.