Lightning
Whelk
Four species of whelks can
be found in Florida waters.
The most common is the lightning whelk,
which grows to about 16 inches long.
These pretty spiral shells provide portable
homes for marine snails. Juvenile whelks
escape the egg casing (shown on left) by
punching holes in the case and
crawling to the sea bottom.
48GASPARILLA ISLAND January/February 2019