channeled whelkChanneled whelks have a smoother exterior than knobbed whelks, and they have hard channels to the shell. They also cruise the intertidal zone and the shallow beaches looking for prey. Sometimes they are eaten by people (the Italian dish scungilli is made with whelks), and the shells were used as tools by early people living on the barrier islands. Egg cases have a hard chine to each small unit, compared to the knobbed whelk’s squared off edges.

channeled whelk shell in sand with reflection
channeled whelk in sand
live channeled whelk
live channeled whelk with periostracum, a fuzzy surface covering the live snails that usually wears off by the time you find a shell.
shell of live Channeled whelk exposed

live channeled whelk pulled from beneath sand
egg cases, channeled whelk
channeled whelk egg cases

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