Oyster Borer
Haustrum scobina
- Usual depth0–1 m
- Water temperature12–18 °C
- Best monthsJanuary, April, and May
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: (c) Lisa Bennett, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Lisa Bennett · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Haustrum scobina, or the oyster borer, is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Haustrum scobina”, 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: 53 records
- February: 23 records
- March: 32 records
- April: 52 records
- May: 57 records
- June: 19 records
- July: 31 records
- August: 16 records
- September: 41 records
- October: 41 records
- November: 18 records
- December: 38 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 0–1 m · Deepest record: 0.5 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 12–18 °C
Photos
(c) Lisa Bennett, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Lisa Bennett · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) wild_wind, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Jacqui Geux, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Javier, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Saryu Mae 前 朝琉, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Emily Roberts, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Javier, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Oyster Borer
Other scientific names: Lepsiella scobina, Purpura rugosa, Purpura scobina, Purpura tristis
Similar species
Dark Rock ShellHaustrum haustorium
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).
- 593 open-data records from 1918 to 2014.
- Species data updated November 3, 2026.
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