the.com/whelk
a sea snail that drills through shells with acid and patience to eat its neighbors
means A marine snail with a sturdy spiral shell, many species of which are edible and sold cooked at seaside stalls.
from From Old English 'weoloc' or 'wioloc,' a name for the sea snail and its shell, related to other Germanic words for the creature. The spelling drifted over the centuries, and the modern 'wh-' is something of an interloper — a later flourish, since the word never truly began with that breathy 'wh' sound at all.
- slow drill
- bores into prey shells over hours or days
- acid attack
- secretes acid to soften clam armor first
- egg towers
- lays spongy egg cases sailors called sea wash balls
- sense of smell
- tracks dying animals across the seabed by scent
- old soap
- dried egg masses once scrubbed sailors' hands
geoduck — largest burrowing clam in north america, weighs up to 3.6 kg, pacific northwest
knobbed whelk — largest gastropod in eastern north america, shell reaches 9 inches, atlantic coast usa
conch whelk — harvested commercially off ireland and scotland, major fishery in celtic sea