Information about Whelk

A lightning whelk shell found on a Gulf of Mexico beach in Louisiana. A lightning whelk shell found on a Gulf of Mexico beach in Louisiana.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Gastropoda Subclass: Orthogastropoda Superorder: Caenogastropoda Order: Sorbeoconcha Suborder: Hypsogastropoda Infraorder: Neogastropoda
Families
See text.

This article is about the Whelk or whelks as they are known in the eastern USA, where the word refers to several species of large, edible Busycon marine snails, in the family Melonginidae.

The word whelk is used in other English-speaking countries, world-wide, to refer to various different, usually edible, large marine gastropods or (snails). In the UK, whelks are Buccinum undatum and related species from the family Buccinidae. In some islands in the Caribbean, such as Saint Kitts and Nevis, the word whelk or "wilks" refers to a large edible top shell, Cittarium pica in the family Trochidae.

Busycon whelks are found in temperate waters. They are scavengers and carnivores, equipped with an extensible proboscis that is tipped with a file-like radula. The radula is used to bore holes through the shells of clams, crabs and lobsters. They also have a large, muscular foot with which they hold their victims. Like other mollusks, whelks have a mantle, a thin layer of tissue located between the body and the shell that creates the shell. Whelks build their hard shells from the calcium carbonate they extract from seawater. The shells can grow up to 16 inches (40 cm) long.

Whelk shells are generally light grey to tan, often having brown and white streaks. The shells have a long siphonal canal, and most species coil dextrally (right-handed, or in a clockwise direction). The lightning whelk, Busycon perversum, native to the waters of the southeastern United States and the Gulf of Mexico, is unusual among gastropods in that it normally produces a sinistral (left-handed) shell. The shell shape of individual specimens may vary widely in both coloration and sculpture.

Busycon whelk eggs strings fairly often wash up, and can dry out on the beach, becoming brittle. These objects are sometimes referred to as "mermaid's necklaces", because they resemble a necklace strung with medallion-shaped egg pouches. Each pouch of the "necklace" contains a large number of baby whelks, very similar in appearance to adults except that the baby shell, or protoconch, has far fewer whorls and less sculpture than the adult.

The knobbed whelk, Busycon carica, is the second-largest species, ranging up to 12 in. (40.6 cm). They have tubercles (or spines) along the shoulder. Knobbed whelks eat clams. They open the clam with their hard shellstrong muscular foot and insert their long proboscis. The knobbed whelk is a common predator of the intertidal mudflats and as far offshore as 26 fathoms (48 m). The channeled whelk, Busycotypus canaliculatus, is slightly smaller than the knobbed whelk and has a smooth shell with a deep square channel which is continuous on all the whorls, just below the suture of the shell.

Another name for whelk (as a food source) in the United States is scungilli. The name is an Italian-American corruption of the Neapolitan word, sconciglio.

Whelks are classified in various families in the infraorder Neogastropoda.

Whelk families

• Buccinidae
• Melongenidae

Human Use

Whelks of the species Buccinum undatum are a seafood eaten in many places around the world, and can be found in seafood restaurants. Some believe they are best cooked by boiling in sea water.

References

• The Georgia Shell Club webpage entry for whelk
• cooking whelks
• Cooking with Whelks
• Cooking with Whelks