Summary ⁶

The dog whelk, dogwhelk, or Atlantic dogwinkle, scientific name Nucella lapillus, is a species of predatory sea snail, a carnivorous marine gastropod mollusc in the family Muricidae, the rock snails.

Taxon biology ⁷

The common dog whelk is a formidable predator, even though it doesn't look dangerous. The snail uses its tongue to grate a hole in the house of another animal, for example, bivalves or other sea snails. Then it injects a fluid, just like a spider, which dissolves the prey. He then 'drinks' up the juicy victim. Such a meal costs a lot of preparation and can take between 6 to 10 hours. This snail almost disappeared from the use of tin-bearing paints (TBT) on ship hulls.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Biopix, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.biopix.com/PhotosMedium/JCS%20Nucella%20lapillus%2014816.jpg
2. (c) Biopix, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.biopix.com/PhotosMedium/JCS%20Nucella%20lapillus%2015142.jpg
3. (c) Biopix, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.biopix.com/PhotosMedium/JCS%20Nucella%20lapillus%2015143.jpg
4. (c) Biopix, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.biopix.com/PhotosMedium/JCS%20Nucella%20lapillus%2014815.jpg
5. (c) Biopix, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.biopix.com/PhotosMedium/JCS%20Nucella%20lapillus%2014817.jpg
6. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucella_lapillus
7. (c) Copyright Ecomare, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/23204779

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• NBN Atlas
• SeaLifeBase
• World Register of Marine Species

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