The New International Encyclopædia/Whelk

WHELK (AS. weluc, weoluc, wiluc, whelk, probably from wealcan, to roll, walk, OHG. walkan, to roll, wallow, Ger. walken, to full cloth, to felt hats, and ultimately connected with Skt. valg, to hop, spring). The popular name of many prosobranch gastropod mollusks, of the family Buccinidæ. In the true whelks (Buccinum) the shell is ovate, turreted, and more or less ventricose, its mouth ovate, emarginate, or produced into a very short canal below. The animal has a broad head, with two tentacles, with the base of which the stalks bearing the eyes are united; the proboscis is large, and the tongue armed with teeth, which are used for the purpose of rasping substances used for food—almost any animal substance being welcome for this use—or for perforating the shells of other mollusks in order to prey upon them. There are numerous species, chiefly found on the coasts of the colder parts of the world. The coasts of the North Atlantic produce several species, of which the most abundant is the ‘common whelk’ (Buccinum undatum). It occurs from low-water mark to a depth of 600 fathoms, is sometimes three inches in length, grayish or brownish white, with numerous raised ridges and spiral striæ. On the American coast it is common as far south as Cape Cod. It is much used in Europe as an article of food.