Channeled whelk
| Channeled whelk | |
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| A shell of a channeled whelk | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Neogastropoda |
| Superfamily: | Buccinoidea |
| Family: | Buccinidae |
| Subfamily: | Busyconinae |
| Tribe: | Busycotypini |
| Genus: | Busycotypus |
| Species: | B. canaliculatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Busycotypus canaliculatus Linnaeus, 1758 |
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The channeled whelk, Busycotypus canaliculatus, previously known as Busycon canaliculatum, is a very large predatory sea snail, a marine prosobranch gastropod, a busycon whelk, belonging to the family Buccinidae. This species is edible.
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[edit] Distribution
This species is endemic to the eastern coast of the United States, from Cape Cod, Massachusetts to northern Florida. It has also been introduced into San Francisco Bay.
[edit] Shell description
Shells of the channeled whelk typically reach 5 to 8 inches in length. The shell is smooth and generally pear-shaped, with a large body whorl and a straight siphonal canal. Between the whorls there is a wide, deep channel at the suture, and there are often weak knobs at the shoulders of the whorls. Finely sculpted lines begin at the siphonal canal and revolve around the shell surface.
The color of the shell is typically a buff gray to light tan. The shell aperture is located on the right side, i.e. the shell of this species is almost always dextral in coiling. Left-handed or sinistral specimens occur rarely.
Channeled whelks prefer sandy, shallow, intertidal or subtidal areas, and can be common in these habitats. They tend to be nocturnal and are known to eat clams.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Busycotypus canaliculatus |
