My Shell is known as a Channeled whelk, it scientific name is Busycotypus canaliculatus ,it is a very large predatory sea snail. Snail is a common name for almost all members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells at adulthood. Gastropod literally means 'belly foot' which refers to the fact that its internal organs are covered by a thick muscular tissue or foot which it also uses to pull itself across the ocean floor.
Some sea marine gastropods such as this one have a soft tubular anterior extension of the mantle called a siphon through which water is drawn into the mantle cavity and over the gill and which serves as a chemoreceptor to locate food. In many carnivorous snails the siphon is particularly long,
Several species of whelks are common along the USA Atlantic coast, but this species is specifically found from Massachusetts to northern Florida. Channeled whelks prefer sandy, shallow, intertidal or sub tidal areas, and can be common in these habitats. They tend to be nocturnal and are known to eat clams.
These shells typically reach 5 to 8 inches in length. They are smooth and generally pear-shaped, with a large stepped body whorl. The channeled whelk has five to six whorls with very small "beads" along the whorl edges and like most whelks; the channeled whelk's opening is on the right side.
Work Cited:
http://www.eatoutzone.com/Whelk.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channeled_whelk
http://www.assateague.com/channel.html
http://oceanica.cofc.edu/shellguide/shells/channelwhelk.htm
