Dark Rock Shell
Haustrum haustorium
- Usual depth0–4 m
- Water temperature13–23 °C
- Best monthsJanuary, April, and September
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: (c) Lisa Bennett, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Lisa Bennett · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Haustrum haustorium, common name: the brown or dark rock shell, is a large species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Haustrum haustorium”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 83 records
- February: 56 records
- March: 48 records
- April: 111 records
- May: 53 records
- June: 44 records
- July: 50 records
- August: 33 records
- September: 67 records
- October: 62 records
- November: 59 records
- December: 53 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 0–4 m · Deepest record: 40 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 13–23 °C
Photos
no rights reserved, uploaded by Peter de Lange · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Saryu Mae 前 朝琉, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Saryu Mae 前 朝琉 · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Saryu Mae 前 朝琉, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Saryu Mae 前 朝琉 · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Julia Palmer, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) Richard Littauer, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Lisa Bennett, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Dark Rock Shell
Other scientific names: Buccinum haustorium, Buccinum haustrum, Haustrum zealandicum, Microtoma unicolor, Purpura haustrum
Similar species
Oyster BorerHaustrum scobina
Cart-rut ShellDicathais orbita
Common Small PurpleAgnewia tritoniformis
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 582 open-data records from 1922 to 2013.
- Species data updated November 3, 2026.
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