The true whelks occur worldwide in all seas from tropical oceans to the cold seas of the
Arctic Ocean and the
Southern Ocean.[2] They are found from the
intertidal to the
bathypelagic zones. Most prefer a solid bottom, but some inhabit sandy substrates.
Description
The shells of species in this family are moderate to large in size, conical to fusiform in shape. The shell often has deep sutures. The shell surface is generally smooth, sometimes with a spiral and/ or axial sculpture. The thickness of the shell is more pronounced in tropical shallow-water species, while the shell of species living in moderate and colder waters is generally thin or moderately thin. The top of the
whorls are more or less shouldered. The radial ribs of the shell sometimes show shoulder knobs. The
aperture is large with a well-defined
siphonal canal. The rim of the aperture is sometimes used to pry open the shell of
bivalves. The aperture is closed by a horny
operculum.
The soft body is elongated and spiral. The head has two conical, depressed tentacles which bear the eyes on a lobe or prominence at their base. The mouth contains a long, cylindrical, annulated proboscis and a small tongue. The mantle forms a thin-edged flap over the branchial cavity. On the left side, it has an elongated, open canal, that emerges by a notch or groove in the shell. The two gills are elongated, unequal and pectinate (i.e. in a comb-like arrangement). The large foot is generally broad.[4]
True whelks are
carnivores and
scavengers.[2] They feed on
clams,
carrion, and sometimes even on
detritus. Their sense of smell is very well-developed; they can sense chemical signals from their prey from a considerable distance with their
osphradia. Many whelks are capable of boring through the shell of bivalves, and because of this, some species cause much harm in
oyster farms. True whelks can even attack fish caught in a net by extending their
probosces to twice the length of their own bodies.
The female whelk lays spongy egg capsules with hundreds of eggs. These form round clusters or a tower-shaped masses. Only about 10% of these eggs hatch. The larvae then feed on the rest of the eggs that have not yet hatched.
The flesh of the common northern whelk, Buccinum undatum, is much appreciated by connoisseurs as a food item, but its consumption is currently somewhat in decline.
The empty shell of a whelk is often used by the hermit crab to make its home.
The subfamily Pisaniinae has been raised to the status of family
Pisaniidae in 2009 by Galindo, L. A.; Puillandre, N.; Utge, J.; Lozouet, P.; Bouchet, P.[5]
Tritonofusus Beck, 1847: synonym of Colus Röding, 1798
References
^
abBouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2010). Buccinidae. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=149 on 2010-12-30
^
abcVaux, Felix; Hills, Simon F.K.; Marshall, Bruce A.; Trewick, Steven A.; Morgan-Richards, Mary (2017). "A phylogeny of Southern Hemisphere whelks (Gastropoda: Buccinulidae) and concordance with the fossil record". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 114 (2017): 367–381.
doi:
10.1016/j.ympev.2017.06.018.
PMID28669812.
Hayashi S. (2005). "The molecular phylogeny of the Buccinidae (Caenogastropoda: Neogastropoda) as inferred from the complete mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene sequences of selected representatives". Molluscan Research25(2): 85-98.
abstractPDF
Bouchet Ph. & Waren A. (1985). "Mollusca Gastropoda : Taxonomical notes on tropical deep water Buccinidae with descriptions of new taxa". Mém. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. Sér. A. 133: 457–518.