Last week I covered the Rose Murex, Vokesimurex rubidus. This week I am presenting a close relative, the Cabrit Murex, Vokesimurex cabritii (Bernardi, 1859). A larger species, Cabrit Murexes can reach about 2.5–3 inches in size. It differs from its “cousin”, the Rose Murex, by having cream or yellowish color and shorter spire (the part of the shell with many whorls, away from the opening, or aperture). As it happens with Rose Murexes, Cabrit Murex shells found on the beach or in shell piles after storms have worn spines, but those dredged or caught in shrimp nets show long, pointy spines. Check the images; the one shell on the right was dredged by a boat of Sanibel Island at a depth of 40 m (about 120 ft.)
The Cabrit Murex, Vokesimurex cabritii. Notice longer, better-preserved spines on shell on the right, which was collected in deeper water off Sanibel. Photos by José H. Leal.