''Sinistrofulgur perversum'', the lightning whelk, is an edible
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of very large
predatory
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...
sea snail
Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...
or
whelk
Whelk (also known as scungilli) is a common name applied to various kinds of sea snail. Although a number of whelks are relatively large and are in the family Buccinidae (the true whelks), the word ''whelk'' is also applied to some other marine ...
, a
marine
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
* Maritime (disambiguation)
* Marine art
* Marine biology
* Marine debris
* Marine habitats
* Marine life
* Marine pollution
Military
* ...
gastropod
The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda ().
This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...
mollusc
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Busyconidae
The Busyconidae are taxonomic family of large sea snails, often known as whelks. MolluscaBase eds. (2022). MolluscaBase. Busyconidae Wade, 1917 (1867). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia. ...
, the busycon whelks. This species has a left-handed or sinistral shell. It eats mostly
bivalve
Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...
s.
There has been some disagreement about the correct scientific name for this species, which has been confused with ''
Sinistrofulgur sinistrum'' Hollister, 1958, and ''
Busycon contrarium
''Sinistrofulgur contrarium'' is a fossil snail species of the busycon whelks in the family Busyconidae. There has been some confusion about the correct taxonomy of this species, which has been confused with the extant species ''Sinistrofulgur si ...
'' (Conrad, 1840), which is an exclusively fossil species.
[J. Wise, M. G. Harasewych, R. T. Dillon Jr. (2004). ]
Population divergence in the sinistral whelks of North America, with special reference to the east Florida ecotone
(PDF; 673 kB)''. Marine Biology 145, pp. 1167–1179.
Distribution
This marine species is native to the
Mid-Atlantic region of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and southeastern
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, from
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
south to
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
and the
Gulf
A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...
states.
Habitat
Lightning whelks can be found in the sandy or muddy
substrate of shallow embayments.
Life habits
This whelk species feeds primarily on marine
bivalve
Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...
s, ingesting their soft parts using its
proboscis
A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a proboscis is an elong ...
.
''Sinistrofulgur perversum'' and ''Busycon carica''
This species shares many characteristics with another species, the knobbed whelk ''
Busycon carica
The knobbed whelk (''Busycon carica'') is a species of very large predatory sea snail, or in the US, a whelk, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Busyconidae, the busycon whelks.
The knobbed whelk is the second largest species of busycon ...
'', but there are some important differences:
*Lightning whelks are sinistral in coiling, whereas knobbed whelks are
dextral
Sinistral and dextral, in some scientific fields, are the two types of chirality ("handedness") or relative direction. The terms are derived from the Latin words for "left" (''sinister'') and "right" (''dexter''). Other disciplines use different ...
*Lightning whelks have a lower
spire
A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...
than the knobbed whelk
*The knobs of the lightning whelk are usually less well-developed than those of the knobbed whelk
*Lightning whelks are
diurnal, while knobbed whelks are active both day and night
*Lightning whelks prefer to stay in deeper waters than the knobbed whelks when feeding on mud flats
Human use
For thousands of years
Native Americans used these animals as food, and used their shells for tools, ornaments, containers and to make jewelry, i.e.
shell gorgets. They may have believed the sinistral nature of the lightning whelk shell made it a sacred object. The
Minnesota Woman
Minnesota Woman, also known as Pelican Rapids-Minnesota Woman (c. 5947–5931 BC), is the skeletal remains of a woman thought to be 8,000 years old. (lived c. 6000 BCE in modern
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
) wore a ''Sinistrofulgur perversum'' shell.
The lightning whelk is the "
State Seashell of Texas".
Gallery
File:Core Banks - Whelk - 1.JPG, Live lightning whelk in North Carolina
File:Welk2.jpg, Abapertural view of a shell
File:Busycon sinistrum (egg case).jpg, Egg cases
File:Busycon contrarium egg capsules - Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History - DSC06673.JPG, Egg cases in a museum
References
* Marquardt, W.M. 1992 Shell Artifacts from the Caloosahatchee Area. In ''Culture and Environment in the Domain of the Calusa'', edited by W. H. Marquardt, pp. 191–228. Institute of Archaeology and Paleoenvironmental Studies, Monograph 1. University of Florida, Gainesville.
* Paine, Robert T. 1962 Ecological Diversification in Sympatric Gastropods of the Genus Busycon. ''Evolution'' 16(4):515-523.
* Pulley, T.E. 1959 ''Busycon perversum'' (Linné) and some related species. ''Rice Institute Pamphlet'', 46:70-89.
* Wise, J.B., G. Harasewych, & R. Dillon. 2004. Population divergence in the sinistral ''Busycon'' whelks of North America, with special reference to the east Florida ecotone. ''Marine Biology'', 145:1163-1179; SMSFP Contrib.538.
External links
Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Snails of the SeaTexas Parks and Wildlife, lightning whelks
{{Taxonbar, from=Q30918058, from2=Q55147211, from3=Q12902713, from4=Q106103085
perversum
Commercial molluscs
Seafood in Native American cuisine
Gastropods described in 1758
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Symbols of Texas