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Knobbed Whelk

Busycon carica

INDEX

fauna

Knobbed Whelk
Species Description

Whelks existed on Earth before the dinosaurs. A species of very large predatory sea snail, Whelks are thought to be protandric hermaphrodites; this means that they start out as males when young, and then change into
females as they grow older. This phenomenon may lead to a preponderance of females among the older and larger sized individuals in the population.

Species Details

FAMILY

Busyconidae

GENUS

Busyconidae

SIZE

up to 305 mm

LIFE SPAN

up to 40 years

HEMISPHERE

Northern

ECOSYSTEM

Native to the North Atlantic coast of North America from Cape Cod, Massachusetts to northern Florida. The knobbed whelk lives subtidally and is migratory, alternating between deep and shallow water, depending on the time of year. During the weather extremes of the summer and winter months, these sea snails live in deep water, at depths of up to 48 m. In the milder weather of the spring and fall they live in shallow water, on near-shore or intertidal mud flats and sand flats. On the shallow-water mud flats whelks prey on oysters, clams, and other marine bivalves.

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