Whelk

ocean · predator · shell · seafood

Spiral shell home. Whelks have beautiful swirling, tapered shells that they live inside, kind of like a snail's apartment that grows with them as they get bigger.

Carnivorous hunters. Unlike some sea snails that eat plants, whelks are meat eaters that hunt and eat other small sea creatures for dinner.

Eaten by humans. People catch and eat whelks, especially the common whelk from the North Atlantic, which is a popular seafood in many countries.

Family Buccinidae. Most whelks belong to a special family of sea snails called Buccinidae, which scientists call the 'true whelks,' though some other sea snails also use the whelk name.