The common whelk (Buccinum undatum) lives in the Northern Atlantic Ocean. The whelk is a sea snail. It lives in cold water and prefers muddy and sandy ocean floors. It lives off the coast to a depth of about 500 feet.
Whelks have a conical shell similar to a conch. The shell color is usually brown, grey or orange, but is usually covered with algae or barnacles, effectively acting as camouflage.
Whelks are one of the largest sea snails, of which there are many, including the common periwinkle and limpet. They can grow up to 4 to 8 inches in length.
Their range is from Canada to the mid-Atlantic.
Whelks were usually the bycatch of lobster traps but recently have become harvested using specially designed whelk traps. Because of this trend they have become the focus of stricter regulations. Not a staple of the American diet, they are usually shipped to ethnic - mostly Asian - markets for consumption.
Whelks are medium sized univalves (single shelled), with axial and spiral ridges on their shell. Their soft body is white with black splotches. They have a powerful muscular foot that glides on a film of mucus, which they secrete. Like most other sea snails with a shell, the whelk possesses a lid on the tip of its foot. When in danger, the foot withdraws into the shell and the lid forms a shield.
Unlike most shellfish, they are carnivores, preying on shellfish such as mussels. They hunt using their sense of smell and can walk several inches per minute. They are also scavengers that feed on dead or dying organisms. They use their tongue to scrape flesh from their prey. Like the Queen Conch, whelks have separate sexes. They mate in the spring. Females release masses of whitish eggs in large rounded capsules. These egg masses are attached to objects such as kelp stalks.
Whelks can live to about 15 years of age.
