The Lightning whelk, Busycon pulleyi Hollister, 1958, is a common gastropod in Texas. In fact, it is the Texas State Shell.

While is it very common to find crabbed shells at University Beach, Corpus Christi Bay, live specimens are not common. And even rarer are yellow shells without the typical dark marks, like the shell I saw this time. It was crabbed, so I left it at the beach. It measured about 7.5 cm (3 in) long.

One of the photos here shows several Lightning Whelk shells with hermit crabs that crawled onto the beach. The crabs live in the shallow waters in the protected University Beach and around the bay.

You can read more about this species and its convoluted taxonomic history in the Encyclopedia of Texas Seashells, page 223. It is also featured in the new Texas Seashells Field Guide, page 99.