Higher Classification: > Kingdom Animalia > Subkingdom Eumetazoa > Phylum Mollusca > Class Gastropoda > Subclass Orthogastropoda > Subclass Caenogastropoda > Order Neogastropoda > Superfamily Buccinoidea > Family Buccinidae > Subfamily Neptuneinae > Genus Neptunea

Neptunea antiqua (Linnaeus, 1758)

Rank: Species
Taxon Status: accepted

Original genus

Murex Linnaeus, 1758

Relationships towards this taxon

Genus group names

*Neptunea*	Röding, 1798	accepted genus name
*Barbitonia*	Dall, 1916	synonym
*Chrysodomus*	Swainson, 1840	synonym
*Chrysodomus (Barbitonia)*	Dall, 1916	synonym
*Neptunea (Barbitonia)*	Dall, 1916	synonym
*Neptunia*	Locard, 1886	synonym

Species group names

*Fusus antiquus*	(Linnaeus, 1758)	synonym
*Fusus antiquus var. alba*	Jeffreys, 1867	synonym
*Fusus antiquus var. gracilis*	Jeffreys, 1867	synonym
*Fusus antiquus var. striata*	Jeffreys, 1867	synonym
*Fusus antiquus var. ventricosa*	Jeffreys, 1867	synonym
*Tritonium (Fusus) antiquum*	(Linnaeus, 1758)	synonym
*Tritonium antiquum*	(Linnaeus, 1758)	synonym

Vernaculars (+) (-)

Danish: rødkonk sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Dutch: gewone noordhoren; noordhoren sources: Hayward, P.; Nelson-Smith, A.; Shields, C. (1999). Gids van kust en strand: flora en fauna [Coast and beach guide: flora and fauna]. Tirion: Baarn, Netherlands. ISBN 90-5210-327-5. 352, ill. pp.

English: ancient neptune; ancient neptune snail; ancient whelk; buckie; common spindle snail; neptune snail; red whelk sources: Cole, T. C. H. (2017). Wörterbuch der Wirbellosen / Dictionary of Invertebrates. Latein-Deutsch-English. 2017. Springer Spektrum: Berlin. ISBN 978-3-662-52869-3. XII, 574 pp.;Lindner, G. (1999). Schelpengids: schelpen uit de wereldzeeën, vorm, voorkomen, systematiek [The shell guide: shells from the world oceans, shape, distribution and systematics]. Tirion: Baarn, The Netherlands. ISBN 90-5210-409-3. 320 pp.

German: gemeine Spindelschnecke; Gemeines Neptunshorn; Spindelschnecke sources: Unterwasser-Welt Ostsee;Cole, T. C. H. (2017). Wörterbuch der Wirbellosen / Dictionary of Invertebrates. Latein-Deutsch-English. 2017. Springer Spektrum: Berlin. ISBN 978-3-662-52869-3. XII, 574 pp.;Lindner, G. (1999). Schelpengids: schelpen uit de wereldzeeën, vorm, voorkomen, systematiek [The shell guide: shells from the world oceans, shape, distribution and systematics]. Tirion: Baarn, The Netherlands. ISBN 90-5210-409-3. 320 pp.

Swedish: neptunussnäcka

Literature

basis of record	Fraussen K. & Terryn Y. (2007). The family Buccinidae. Genus Neptunea. In: A Conchological Iconography [Directed by Guido T. Poppe & Klaus Groh]. ConchBooks, Hackenheim. 159 pp., 154 pls.
additional source	Pearce, J. B.; Thorson, G. (1967). The feeding and reproductive biology of the red whelk, Neptunea antiqua (L.) (Gastropoda, Prosobranchia). Ophelia. 4(2): 277-314.
additional source	Power, A.; Keegan, B. (2001). Seasonal patterns in the reproductive activity of the red whelk, Neptunea antiqua (Mollusca: Prosobranchia) in the Irish Sea. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. 81(2): 243-250.
additional source	Rehder, H. A. (1942). The genotype of Neptunea. The Nautilus. 56(2): 69.
additional source	Wells, J. W. (1960). A Pleistocene marine mollusk in central New York. The Nautilus. 74(1): 26-28, pl. 4.

Genbank

External Links

Marine Life Information Network - UK

Citation

MolluscaBase eds. (2025). MolluscaBase. Neptunea antiqua (Linnaeus, 1758). Via: Costello, M.J.; Bouchet, P.; Boxshall, G.; Arvantidis, C.; Appeltans, W. (2011) European Register of Marine Species, Accessed through PESI at http://www.eu-nomen.eu/portal/taxon.php?GUID=urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:138920