Knobbed Whelk (Busycon carica) While both the knobbed whelk and the lightning whelk have knobs on the edge of each whorl, the knobbed whelks on Assateague beach can be distinguished from the lightning whelks mainly by their right-sided openings (most gastropods are "right-sided") and their slightly larger knobs. Knobbed whelks grow to eight or nine inches in shallow water along the coast from Massachusetts to northern Florida. Like lightning whelks, knobbed whelks feed on clams, and the females lay strings of egg capsules attached by one end in the sand.

Return to Shells, etc., Menu