Jeff Rotman / Atlantic Wolffish (Anarhichas lupus) eating Whelk. Bay of Fundy, Canada, Atlantic Ocean.

Franco Banfi / True whelk sea snail (Buccinum sp) on rock. Tasiilaq, East Greenland. April.

Franco Banfi / True whelk sea snail (Buccinum sp) on rock. Tasiilaq, East Greenland. April.

Nick Upton / Dog whelk (Nucella lapillus) from Atlantic Ocean. Cornwall, England, UK. September.

Chris Mattison / Rare purple form of Dog whelk (Nucella lapillus) on the shore at Nash Point, Glamorgan.

Chris Mattison / Rare purple form of Dog whelk (Nucella lapillus) resting on a colony of honeycomb worms (Sabellaria alveolata) on the shore at Nash Point, Glamorgan.

Ashley Cooper / A fisherman landing whelks destined for the Asian market on the Cob at Lyme Regis, part of the World Heritage site of the Jurassic Coast, Dorset, UK. June 2012.

Robert Thompson / Dog whelk (Nucella lapillus) on rock. Mill Quarter Bay, Killard Point National Nature Reserve, Strangford, County Down, Northern Ireland. February.

Robert Thompson / Dog whelk (Nucella lapillus) and Common barnacle (Semibalanus balanoides) on rock. Mill Quarter Bay, Killard Point National Nature Reserve, Strangford, County Down, Northern Ireland. February.

Sue Daly / Netted dogwhelk (Nassarius reticulatus) moving across the seabed, Sark, British Channel Islands, UK, July.

Martin Gabriel / Mangrove snails (Terebralia palustris) at low tide lying between mangrove roots, Liwa, Sultanate of Oman, January.

Nick Upton / Dog whelk egg capsules (Nucella lapillus) with eggs visible inside in a crevice among intertidal rocks, Cornwall, UK, April.

Nick Upton / Dog whelk (Nucella lapillus) egg capsules surrounded by a mat of Crumb-of-bread sponge (Hymeniacidon perlevis) on exposed intertidal rocks, Cornwall, UK, April.

Robin Chittenden / Beadlet anemone (Actinia equina) with Barnacles (Thoracica) Dog whelk (Nucella lapillus) Brittany, France. August 2014

SCOTLAND: The Big Picture / Common whelk (Buccinum undatum) on maerl (Corallinales) bed, a priority marine feature. Within a Marine Protected Area, Shetland, Scotland, UK, September.

SCOTLAND: The Big Picture / Common whelk (Buccinum undatum) laying eggs, Loch Creran, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, UK, November. Small repro only.

Alex Hyde / Eggs of Common whelk (Buccinum undatum) on beach. Anglesey, Wales, UK. December.

Ann & Steve Toon / Hermit crab (Pagurus bernhardus) emering from whelk, Boulmer, Northumberland, UK, April

MYN / Dimitris Poursanidis / Sea snail shell (Pollia scacchiana) Greece. meetyourneighbours.net project

Pete Oxford / Whelk (Buccinidae) egg casings, Little Saint Simon's Island, Georgia

Sue Daly / Eggs of Common whelk (Buccinum undatum) on beach, Sark, British Channel Islands.

Sue Daly / Eggs of Common whelk (Buccinum undatum) on seaweed washed up on beach, Sark, British Channel Islands.

Sue Daly / Common whelk (Buccinum undatum) Bouley Bay, Jersey, British Channel Islands.

Nick Upton / Egg masses of Common whelk (Buccinum undatum) washed up on high water mark alongside dried out Bladder wrack fronds (Fucus vesiculosus), Rhossili, The Gower peninsula, Wales, UK, June.

Nick Upton / Aggregation of Netted dog whelks (Nassarius reticulatus) scavenging on rocks just below the low water tideline, Rhossili, The Gower Peninsula, UK, June.

Nick Upton / Dog whelk (Nucella lapillus), a predator of barnacles, on rocks encrusted with Common barnacles / Northern rock barnacles (Semibalanus balanoides) exposed at low tide, with seaweed, a rock pool and th...

Nick Upton / Seven Netted dog whelk (Nassarius retuculata) egg cases attached to a rock exposed at low tide, Lyme Regis, Dorset, UK, May

Sue Daly / Dog Whelk (Nucella lapillus) English Channel, off the coast of Sark, Channel Islands, September

Sue Daly / Netted Dogwhelks (Nassarius reticulatus) English Channel, off the coast of Sark, Channel Islands, July

Sue Daly / Netted Dogwhelks (Nassarius reticulatus) English Channel, off the coast of Sark, Channel Islands, October

Sue Daly / Netted Dogwhelk (Nassarius reticulatus) English Channel, off the coast of Sark, Channel Islands, October

Sue Daly / Dog Whelk (Nucella lapillus) English Channel, off the coast of Sark, Channel Islands, September

Christophe Courteau / Eggs of Netted dogwhelk {Nassarius reticulata} on seaweed. Brittany France

Nick Upton / Head on view of Common Hermit crab (Pagurus bernhardus) in a Dog whelk shell crawling over floor of a rockpool. Rhossili, The Gower Peninsula, UK, July.

Nick Upton / Thick-lipped dog whelk (Nassarius incrassatus) exposed on a low spring tide crawling on rocks, near Falmouth, Cornwall, UK, August.

Nick Upton / Thick-lipped dog whelk (Nassarius incrassatus) exposed on a low spring tide, near Falmouth, Cornwall, UK, August.

Nick Upton / Common brittle star (Ophiothrix fragilis) moving over floor of rockpool encrusted with red algae past Flat / Purple Top shell (Gibbula umbilicalis), Rough periwinkle (Littorina saxatilis) and Thick-li...

Nick Upton / Netted dog whelk (Nassarius reticulatus) with siphon, tentacle and eye visible, scavenging on barnacle encrusted rocks bordering a sandy seabed, exposed on a low spring tide, Rhossili, The Gower Penin...

Nick Upton / Netted dog whelk (Nassarius reticulatus) with tentacles and eyes visible, scavenging on barnacle encrusted rocks exposed on a low spring tide, Rhossili, The Gower Peninsula, UK, July.

Nick Upton / Netted dog whelk (Nassarius reticulatus) scavenging on barnacle encrusted rocks bordering a sandy seabed, exposed on a low spring tide, Rhossili, The Gower Peninsula, UK, July.

Nick Upton / Netted dog whelk (Nassarius reticulatus) scavenging on barnacle encrusted rocks bordering a sandy seabed, exposed on a low spring tide, Rhossili, The Gower Peninsula, UK, July.

Nick Upton / Netted dog whelks (Nassarius reticulatus) scavenging on rocks among Sea Lettuce (Ulva lactuca) and Irish moss / Carrageen (Chondrus crispus) seaweeds exposed on a low spring tide, Rhossili, The Gower...

Nick Upton / Netted dog whelk (Nassarius reticulatus) scavenging on seaweed covered rocks bordering a sandy seabed, exposed on a low spring tide, Rhossili, The Gower Peninsula, UK, July.

Nick Upton / Close up of Netted dog whelk (Nassarius reticulatus) with siphon, tentacle and eye visible, scavenging on barnacle encrusted rocks exposed on a low spring tide, Rhossili, The Gower Peninsula, UK, July...

Nick Upton / Young Dog whelk (Nucella lapillus) on a boulder exposed at low tide, St. Bees, Cumbria, UK, July

Nick Upton / Young Dog whelk (Nucella lapillus) crawling over a boulder exposed at low tide, St. Bees, Cumbria, UK, July

Nick Upton / Young Dog whelk (Nucella lapillus) crawling over a boulder exposed at low tide, St. Bees, Cumbria, UK, July

Nick Upton / Dog whelk (Nucella lapillus) eggs in a rock crevice, exposed at low tide, North Berwick, East Lothian, UK, July

Toby Roxburgh / 2020VISION / Fishermen unloading bags of Common whelks (Buccinum undatum) at the harbour (The Cobb), Lyme Regis, England, UK, February 2011

Philippe Clement / Netted dog whelk (Nassarius reticulatus / Hinia reticulata) shells on beach, Normandy, France

Philippe Clement / Dog whelk / Atlantic dogwinkle (Nucella lapillus) shell on beach, Normandy, France

Philippe Clement / Common whelk (Buccinum undatum) shells on beach, Brittany, France

MYN / Carsten Krieger / Dog Whelk (Nucella lapillus) shell, County Clare, Republic of Ireland, January. meetyourneighbours.net project

Nick Upton / Common Mussels (Mytilus edulis) Dog Whelk (Nucella lapillus), Common limpet (Patella vulgata) and Montagu's stellate barnacles (Chthamalus montagui) exposed at low tide on rocks fringing a sandy beach...

Juergen Freund / Nassa dog whelk / mud snail (Nassarius glans) Komodo NP, Indonesia.

Doug Wechsler / Mass of Dog whelks / Mud snails (Nassarius obsoletus) Evangaline Beach, Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Canada

Adrian Davies / Lightning whelk shell (Busycon contrarium / pulleyi) from Calda Channel, Key West, Florida, USA

Philippe Clement / Common whelk (Buccinum undatum) shells, Brittany, France

Robert Thompson / Dog whelk {Nucella lapillus} and barnacles in tidepool, Strangford Lough, County Down, Northern Ireland, September

Philippe Clement / Fossils of the Netted dog whelk (Nassarius / Hinia reticulata) Belgium

Philippe Clement / Fossil of the Netted dog whelk (Nassarius / Hinia reticulata) on beach, Belgium

Philippe Clement / Common whelk (Buccinum undatum) from the North Sea, shell showing aperture, Belgium

Philippe Clement / Common whelk (Buccinum undatum) egg mass / sea wash ball, Belgium

Philippe Clement / Six Common whelk (Buccinum undatum) shells, Normandy, France

Philippe Clement / Common whelk (Buccinum undatum) shell from North Sea on beach, Belgium

Philippe Clement / Common whelk (Buccinum undatum) shell showing aperture, Normandy, France

Philippe Clement / Common whelk (Buccinum undatum) shell showing aperture, Normandy, France

Philippe Clement / Three Common whelk (Buccinum undatum) shells, Normandy, France

Philippe Clement / Common whelk (Buccinum undatum) from the North Sea, Belgium

Philippe Clement / Common whelk (Buccinum undatum) egg mass / sea wash ball, Belgium

Philippe Clement / Six Common whelk (Buccinum undatum) shells, Normandy, France

Philippe Clement / Three Common whelk (Buccinum undatum) shells on beach, Normandy, France

Philippe Clement / Common whelk (Buccinum undatum) shell, Normandy, France

Philippe Clement / Two Common whelk (Buccinum undatum) shells, Normandy, France

Philippe Clement / Common whelk (Buccinum undatum) shell, Normandy, France

Philippe Clement / Common whelk (Buccinum undatum) from North Sea on beach, Belgium

Philippe Clement / Two Netted dog whelk (Nassarius reticulatus / Hinia reticulata) shells, Normandy, France

Philippe Clement / Collection of shells: Common Mussel (Mytilus edulis), Baltic tellin shell (Macoma balthica), Rayed trough shell (Mactra stultorum cinerea / Mactra corallina cinerea), Netted dog whelk (Nassarius retic...

Philippe Clement / Netted dog whelk (Nassarius reticulatus / Hinia reticulata) shells, Belgium

Philippe Clement / Three Netted dog whelk (Nassarius reticulatus / Hinia reticulata) shells on beach, Belgium

Philippe Clement / Netted dog whelk (Nassarius reticulatus / Hinia reticulata) shell, Normandy, France

Philippe Clement / Dog whelk / Atlantic dogwinkle (Nucella lapillus) shell on beach, Normandy, France

Philippe Clement / Netted dog whelk (Nassarius reticulatus / Hinia reticulata) shell on beach with aperture showing, Normandy, France

Philippe Clement / Dog whelk / Atlantic dogwinkle (Nucella lapillus) shell, Normandy, France

Philippe Clement / Three Netted dog whelk (Nassarius reticulatus / Hinia reticulata) shells, Belgium

Philippe Clement / Netted dog whelk (Nassarius reticulatus / Hinia reticulata) shell with aperture showing, Normandy, France

Philippe Clement / Two Netted dog whelk (Nassarius reticulatus / Hinia reticulata) shells on beach, Normandy, France

Philippe Clement / Dog whelk / Atlantic dogwinkle (Nucella lapillus) shell on beach, Normandy, France

Scott Leslie / Common Northern Whelk (Buccinum undatum) tending egg mass, Maine

LYNN M. STONE / Egg case of Lightning whelk {Busycon pulleyi} amongst shells, Florida, USA

Nature Production / Carrion crow {Corvus corone} flying and dropping Whelk {Neptunea polycostata} on to road to break shell as it hits the ground, Japan, May, sequence 2/3

Nature Production / Carrion crow {Corvus corone} feeding on Whelk {Neptunea polycostata} that it has dropped from a height to break the shell on the road, Japan, May, sequence 3/3

Nature Production / Carrion crow {Corvus corone} flying and dropping Whelk {Neptunea polycostata} on to road to break shell as it hits the ground, Japan, May, sequence 1/3

Sue Daly / Netted dog whelk {Nassarius reticulatus}, Jersey, Channel Is, UK

Graham Eaton / Common whelk {Buccinum undatum} showing syphon, Wales, UK,

Graham Eaton / Common Hermit Crab (Pagurus bernhardus) in Whelk Shell, Cardigan Bay, Wales, UK 2007