Shells
SHELLS Genus FULGUR, Montf. (BUSYCON, Bolt.) Shell large, heavy, depressed below the apex, sculptured by fine revolving ridges crossed by radiating growth lines; columella drawn out into a slender stalk; body whorl large, aperture oval with elongated anterior canal; operculum horny; foot large; sexes separate; egg capsules keeled, on connecting ribbon.
The Knobbed Whelk (Fulgur carica, Gmel.) is one of the two largest and most characteristic univalve mollusks of the Atlantic coast north of Cape Hatteras. Its side partner is F. canaliculatus. These two great ocean snails are much alike in 64 The Whelks. Trumpet Shells looks and habits. On any sandy beach between Cape Cod and the Gulf of Mexico one may pick up wave-worn shells of both, and their peculiar empty cases, always puzzling to the uninformed, who take home a string or two among other sea treasures to ad mire and wonder at with their friends. Naturally they do not associate the shells with these "seaweeds." Sometimes a living shell with its dirty looking inmate is picked up where the tide left it stranded; at low tide they may be fpund clambering about on the slippery rocks or ploughing their way through the wet sand and gravel, with the muscular foot quite buried. Hollows in the sand are caused by whelks burrow ing below the surface. The grayish colour, marked with dull brown, protects these mollusks from discovery except when in motion. The extended foot covers the bright red lining of the .shell's thin lip. At rest the mollusk retracts the stout foot which closes the aperture with a deep-set horny door. A formidable series of knobs adorn the shoulder line of the outer whorl of the shell, each marking the end of a period of growth. This is the distinguishing characteristic of the species.
In Long Island Sound, on rocky shores, the shells never attain the size they do in the open, sandy surf-beaten beaches of New Jersey. Six to nine inches in length the adults range. Juvenile forms are found of all sizes.
The size and businesslike agility of this gigantic snail may lead you to quote Alice's knight: Come, tell me how it is you live, And what it is you do.
Ask the oystermen along the coast. They gnash their teeth and class the Fulgur among the numerous enemies of the helpless oyster. However, since the starfish and the little "drill" exist in so much greater numbers, ruthlessly destroying the young, the toll of the whelks may be small, though they are able to devour the oldest inhabitant of the oyster bed. They subsist chiefly upon live mollusks of various kinds.
A small round hole, bevelled as if by a steel tool, is made, and the whelk sucks out the juicy contents of the shell. The helpless bivalve gapes open. Little but tough muscle and ligament remains.
The long, hollow channel of the Fulgur's shell contains the 65 The Whelks. Trumpet Shells muscular double siphon. One tube admits water to the gill cham ber, the other discharges wastes. When the mollusk is in motion the siphon is extended beyond the end of the shell and upward. Under it the head protrudes, bearing the proboscis in front, and the waving tentacles, each with a little black eye on the side. The foot spreads broadly below the shell opening; the operculum lies flat on the posterior lobe. The shell is carried in a horizontal position, its spire directly above the operculum, its stem thrust forward.
Few observers have ever seen the giant whelk lay her eggs, though all know the long "egg ribbon" from which little whelks emerge in the perfect image of their parents. It is known that the process of egg laying is an exhausting one and takes con siderable time and energy. The first of the parchment-like sub stance is extruded upon a pebble or shell fragment which is chosen as an anchor for the completed chain. The first few capsules are small and far apart on the string. Then begin the perfect egg cases, two keeled, and set close together. The string twists spirally and is often a yard long, with nearly one hundred cases.