Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index The Purple Murex is a shellfish (Murex trunculus) which produces a distinctive purple dye, considered valuable in ancient times and often used to dye fabrics. The dye is sometimes called "royal" or "imperial purple" as its price put it beyond the reach of all but the wealthiest. This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.