Phyllonotus trunculus - Bakouma

Commonly called truncated Murex, this shell has been famous since Antiquity. It has a strong shell, decorated with prominent spirals and brown and purplish hues.
It was from this mollusk (and its cousin Murex brandaris) that the Phoenicians of Carthage extracted the famous Tyrian purple, a purplish-red dye reserved for imperial clothing. This stamp thus links current biodiversity to the prestigious industrial past of ancient Tunisia.