thumbnail|Several different species of large whelks in the family [[Buccinidae, the true whelks, on sale at a fish market in Japan]]

thumb|A whelk at [[Miller's Point, Western Cape|Miller's Point near Cape Town]]

Whelks or welks are any of several carnivorous sea snail species with a swirling, tapered shell. Many are eaten by humans, such as the common whelk of the North Atlantic. Most whelks belong to the family Buccinidae and are known as "true whelks." Others, such as the dog whelk, belong to several sea snail families that are not closely related.

True whelks (family Buccinidae) are carnivorous, and feed on annelids, crustaceans, mussels and other molluscs, drilling holes through shells to gain access to the soft tissues. Whelks use chemoreceptors to locate their prey.

Many have historically been used, or are still used, by humans and other animals as food. In a reference serving of whelk, there are of food energy, 24 g of protein, 0.34 g of fat, and 8 g of carbohydrates.

Dog whelk, a predatory species, was used in antiquity to make a rich red dye that improves in color as it ages.

Usage

The common name "whelk" is also spelled welk or even wilk.

The species, genera and families referred to by this common name vary a great deal from one geographic area to another.

Asia

thumb|200px|Skewered whelks from Japan

In Japan,

Scotland

In Scotland, the word "whelk" is also used to mean the periwinkle (Littorina littorea), family Littorinidae.

United States

In the United States, whelk refers to several large edible species in the genera Busycon and Busycotypus, which are now classified in the family Buccinidae. These are sometimes called Busycon whelks.

In addition, the unrelated invasive species Rapana venosa is referred to as the Veined rapa whelk or Asian rapa whelk despite it being a murex in the family Muricidae.

West Indies

In the English-speaking islands of the West Indies, the word whelks or wilks (this word is both singular and plural) is applied to a large edible top shell, Cittarium pica, also known as the magpie or West Indian top shell, family Trochidae.

Some common examples

  • Channeled whelk
  • Common whelk
  • Knobbed whelk, the state shell of Georgia and New Jersey
  • Lightning whelk
  • Red whelk
  • Speckled whelk
  • "Wrinkled whelk", "inflated whelk", and "lyre whelk", common names for Neptunea lyrata
  • Wrinkled purple whelk

See also

  • Conch, another common name used for a wide variety of large sea snails or their shells

Explanatory notes

References

  • The Georgia Shell Club webpage entry for whelk , Busycon species
  • Nutrition facts for "whelk" (species not indicated) as a food source
  • The Marine Life Information Network - The Common Whelk