Common dog whelk
The Common dog whelk, scientifically known as *Nucella lapillus*, is a marine gastropod mollusk primarily found along the rocky shores of the North Atlantic, particularly in northwestern Europe and northeastern North America. This species typically grows to about one and a half inches (3.5 cm) in length and features a hard, protective shell that can be dull white, brown, or yellow, often adorned with darker stripes. The shell's structure is characterized by a swirling pattern with several whorls, and it provides essential protection for the animal beneath.
Common dog whelks are carnivorous, preying on various bivalve mollusks, such as mussels and clams, as well as other small marine creatures. They employ a unique feeding technique by drilling holes into the shells of their prey, then using a combination of paralyzing chemicals and digestive enzymes to access the soft tissue inside. The species reproduces in the spring, with females laying eggs in cases that can contain between 100 to 1000 eggs, which turn purple shortly after being laid.
Young whelks emerge after about four months, feeding on unfertilized eggs within the protective capsule until they are ready to break free. They typically reach maturity in approximately three years and can live for five to ten years. The Common dog whelk population is currently stable and not considered threatened.
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Common dog whelk
Although the common dog whelk is commonly classified as a dog whelk, it is sometimes also considered a rock shell. This creature is sometimes also known as an Atlantic dogwinkle. It was given the name Atlantic for its geographical location.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Neogastropoda
Family: Muricidae
Genus: Nucella
Species: Lapillus
The common dog whelk typically grows to be about one and a half inches (three and a half centimeters) long. Most of this length is the creature's hard, protective, outer shell. This shell, which ranges in color from dull white to brown or yellow, is typically marked with two or three darker stripes. Like the shells of other whelks, the shell of the common dog whelk is a swirling shell with several whorls, or rounded spiral sections. This part of the common dog whelk's body is covered with many lines, which like the lines inside a tree, show the age of the common dog whelk.
Beneath the hard, protective shell of the common dog whelk lies the whelk's soft gliding foot. Like other sea snails, the common dog whelk uses its strong, broad, muscular foot to help it move along the rocky shores of the coast. At the tail end of its foot the common dog whelk has an operculum. The operculum is a hard disk which the common dog whelk uses to cover the opening of its shell. The disk seals the shell and protects the common dog whelk's body.
Like other whelks, the common dog whelk has a pair of tentacles at the front of its body. Each of the tentacles is equipped with a small eye. The common dog whelk uses the tentacles and its eyes to learn about its environment. The common dog whelk also has a siphon near its tentacles. A siphon is an instrument which sucks like a straw. The siphon of the common dog whelk is used to suck water into the creature's body.
The common dog whelk lives in the North Atlantic along the rocky shores of northwestern Europe and the northeastern parts of North America from the northeastern United States up the coast of eastern Canada. The common dog whelk is typically found in dark, sheltered nooks, throughout wet mossy areas, and in cracks with saltwater drips, in water temperatures between thirty-two and sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit (zero degrees and twenty degrees Celsius).
As a carnivorous, or meat-eating, creature, the common dog whelk feeds on a variety of aquatic, or water-living, animals. Its diet may include a variety of bivalve mollusks such as mussels and clams, as well as fish, other snails, and dead animal flesh. The common dog whelk gets to the soft bodies of bivalve mollusks by drilling a hole into one of the hard shells which protect these creatures. After the hole is formed, the whelk releases paralyzing chemicals and digestive enzymes to break down the prey into soup which can then be sucked out with the proboscis. A proboscis is a tube-like appendage which aids in the process of sensory perception and feeding. An elephant's trunk and a human's nose are two examples of proboscises.
After mating in the Spring, the female common dog whelk lays her eggs in a hard-walled case. Each case may hold about 100 to 1000 eggs. Soon after being laid, the eggs of the common dog whelk turn purple. The egg case of the common dog whelk is typically attached to a rock. The young will feed on unfertilized eggs within the capsule until they break free from the protective capsule four months later as miniature snails. They will reach full maturity around three years of age and will mate at that point.
The life span of the common dog whelk is five to ten years.
The common dog whelk population is not threatened.
Bibliography
“Dogwhelks.” MarineBio, 10 Apr. 2024, www.marinebio.org/species/dogwhelks/nucella-lapillus/. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
“Dog Whelk.” The Wildlife Trusts, www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/marine/sea-snails-and-sea-slugs/dog-whelk. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
“Dog Whelk.” Animalia, 31 Dec. 2021, animalia.bio/dog-whelk. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
“Dog Whelk Snail.” Scottish Wildlife Trust, scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/species/dog-whelk-snail/. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.