Design

The whelk uses its radula (a tongue-like feature with rows of teeth) to bore a hole into the shell of its prey to reach the protected flesh. It then sucks out the flesh.

Features

• A whelk is generally light gray to tan, often having brown and white streaks.
• The thick-lipped, spiral shell has an uneven surface with many protrusions. The shell has a long siphonal canal and most whelk shells coil in a right-hand direction though a few species coil in the opposite direction.
• The shape of the whelk depends on the waves that impact the creature.
• The whelk has a large, muscular foot with which it holds its victim.

Fun Facts

• The color of the whelk depends on the foods that it eats.
• Whelk egg cases, resembling clumps of puffed rice, are commonly found on beaches in early summer.
• The whelk is one of the most common rocky-shore gastropods in temperate regions.