Haustellum is a genus of medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails. Like many other genera within the Muricidae, the genus has been redefined several times.

Ponder & Vokes (1988) and Vokes (1990) included American and Indo-Pacific species in Haustellum, which differs from Murex sensu stricto by lacking a labral spine.

Petuch (1994) introduced Vokesimurex for the American long-canalled Haustellum sensu Vokes (1990), such as Murex messorius Sowerby, 1841.

Houart (1999) transferred 14 Indo-Pacific species and three subspecies of Haustellum in the genus Vokesimurex.

As currently defined, Haustellum is represented by eight to nine species. Members of Haustellum generally differ from those of Vokesimurex in having a globose and low-spired shape, a more rounded aperture, a smooth columella, a less deep anal notch, and no cord spine.

Species

Species within the genus Haustellum include:

Species brought into synonymy

Paleontology

There is no record of extinct species in the geological register. The oldest member is the type species Haustellum haustellum from the Indo-Pacific province. It is recorded from the Miocene of Borneo (Beets, 1941), the Pliocene of Java, Indonesia and the Plio-Pleistocene of the Malaysian Archipelago.

  • Beets, C. (1941). Eine jungmiocäne Mollusken Fauna von der Halbinsel Mangkalihat, Ost Borneo. Verhandelingen Geologisch-Mijnbouwkunig Genootshap Nederland en Kolonien. Geologisch Serie 13 (1): 1-218.
  • Houart, R. (1999). Review of the Indo-Pacific species ofHaustellumSchumacher, 1817 and comments on Vokesimurex Petuch, 1994 (Gastropoda: Muricidae) with the description of H. bondarevi n. sp. Apex 14 (3-8): 81-107.
  • Merle, D., Garrigues, B. & Pointier, J.-P. (2011). Fossil and Recent Muricidae of the World, Part Muricinae. 648 pp., 182 colour plates, Hackenheim. ISBN 978-3-939767-32-9.
  • Petuch, E. J. (1994). Atlas of Florida fossil shells. 394 pp. Chicago.
  • Ponder, W. F. & Vokes, E. H. (1988). A revision of the Indo-West Pacific fossil and recent Species ofMurexs.s. andHaustellum(Mollusca: Gastropoda: Muricidae). Records of the Australian Museum, Suppl. 8: 1-160.
  • Vokes, E. H. (1990): Cenozoic Muricidae of the Western Atlantic region, Part VIII -Murexs.s.,Haustellum,Chicoreus,Hexaplex; additions and corrections. Tulane Studies in Geology and Paleontology 23 (1-3): 1-96.
  • Houart R. (2014). Living Muricidae of the world. Muricinae. Murex, Promurex, Haustellum, Bolinus, Vokesimurex and Siratus. Harxheim: ConchBooks. 197 pp.