Bolinus is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails. This genus is known in the fossil record from the Miocene to the Pliocene period (age range: from 15.97 to 2.588 million years ago.). Fossil shells within this genus have been found in Cyprus, Austria, Italy and Turkey. Some species of these molluscs were known since ancient times as a source for purple dye and also as a popular food source.