Whelk
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Buccinidae | |
|---|---|
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| The shell of Penion cuvieranus cuvieranus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Superfamily: | Buccinoidea |
| (unranked): | clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda |
| Family: | Buccinidae Rafinesque, 1815 |
| Type genus | |
| Buccinum Linnaeus, 1758 |
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| Genera and species | |
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See text. |
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Whelk or welk is a word used for individuals of several of marine gastropods; they are not monophyletic. They are found in temperate and tropical waters, and are used by humans as food.
- In the British Isles and the Netherlands, where the word whelk probably originated, the word "whelk" is applied to a number of species in the family Buccinidae, especially Buccinum undatum, an edible European and Northern Atlantic species.
- In North America whelk refers to several large edible species in the genera Busycon and Busycotypus within the family Melongenidae. These are sometimes called Busycon whelks.
- In the English-speaking islands of the West Indies, the word whelks or wilks (the 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.
- In the United States, the invasive Murex Rapana venosa is referred to as the Veined rapa whelk or Asian rapa whelk.
- In Australia and New Zealand, species of the genus Cabestana are called predatory whelks.
