Murex

thumb|270px|Artist's illustration of a Murex grasping on to   a support of a ship's hull.">thumb|270px|Artist's illustration of a Murex grasping on to   a support of a ship's hull.
Murex is a species of bothersome purple fish that were described in Historia Naturalis (77 AD) by Pliny the Elder. He explained that the Murex would latch onto the hull of the ship to prevent it from maneuvering. It has fanged teeth and resembles a viper (snaggletooth) fish. It is somewhat worth noting that the word "murex" was used by Aristotle centuries later in reference to a specific grouping of snails; while this would make the murex snails one of the oldest classical seashell names still in use by the scientific community, it has no doubt little correlation with the original fish creature described 307 years before Aristotle's birth; however, it is possible that Aristotle was referencing the creature when naming the snails.

See Also
Mora, another bothersome creature that attaches itself to boat hulls
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