Haustrum haustorium facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Haustrum haustorium
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Neogastropoda
Superfamily:	Muricoidea
Family:	Muricidae
Subfamily:	Haustrinae
Genus:	Haustrum
Species:	H. haustorium
Binomial name
Haustrum haustorium (Gmelin, 1791)

Haustrum haustorium, often called the brown rock shell or dark rock shell, is a large species of predatory sea snail. It is a marine gastropod mollusc that belongs to the family Muricidae, which includes many murex snails or rock snails.

Discovering the Brown Rock Shell's Family Tree

Scientists group living things into categories based on how they are related. This is called taxonomy.

How Scientists Classify Haustrum haustorium

For a long time, Haustrum haustorium was thought to be the only species in its group, called the genus Haustrum. However, in 2004, a scientist named Beu looked closely at many New Zealand snails. He decided that some other snails, which were in a group called Lepsiella, were actually very similar. Because of this, he moved them into the Haustrum genus. This means Haustrum haustorium now has more relatives in its genus!

Where Does This Snail Live?

This interesting sea snail is found in New Zealand.

What Does the Brown Rock Shell Look Like?

An adult Haustrum haustorium shell, showing its opening and thin edge.

The shell of Haustrum haustorium has a special feature that helps scientists tell it apart from similar snails. This feature is the angle where the shell's opening, called the aperture, meets the rest of the shell.

Unique Shell Features

In Haustrum haustorium, this angle is almost a right angle (90 degrees). In other similar snail species, the angle is much sharper, around 45 degrees. This small detail is a reliable way to identify this specific snail. A scientist named Tan wrote a detailed report about this in 2003.

Understanding the Snail's Environment

Where the Brown Rock Shell Makes its Home

This rock snail usually lives in the middle and lower parts of rocky shores in New Zealand. These areas are called the intertidal zone, which means they are covered by water at high tide and exposed to air at low tide. You won't find it as often on sheltered shores that are covered in a lot of algae.