Busycon

''Busycon'' is a genus of very large edible sea snails in the subfamily Busyconinae. These snails are commonly known in the United States as '' whelks'' or ''Busycon whelks''. Less commonly they are loosely, and somewhat misleadingly, called "conchs".Bouchet, P. (2015). Busycon Röding, 1798. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=160183 on 2015-12-03

''Busycon'' comes from the Greek ''bousykon'' meaning ''large fig'', from ''bous'' meaning '' cow'' and ''sykon'' meaning '' fig''.

Shell description

Shells of species in this genus can grow to a length of 40 cm. They all have a long siphonal canal.

The shells are generally a solid cream, light grey or tan in color, however the shell of the lightning whelk is marked with brown and white streaks.

The shell of individuals can sometimes vary quite widely in coloration and sculpture.

Behavior

Busycon whelks are scavengers and carnivores, equipped with a proboscis tipped with a file-like radula used to bore holes through the shells of barnacles, clams, crabs, and lobsters. They have a large, muscular foot with which they hold their victims. Small sharks, gulls, crabs, and other gastropods are known to feed upon them.

The knobbed whelk, '' Busycon carica'', is the second-largest species, growing up to 30 cm long. They have tubercles (spines) along the shoulder. They open clams with their muscular foot and insert their long proboscis to digest the flesh. The knobbed whelk is a common predator of the foreshore mudflats as far offshore as 50 m.

Eggs

Strings of Busycon whelk egg capsules commonly wash ashore and desiccate, becoming brittle. These objects are sometimes called ''mermaid's necklaces'' because they resemble a large necklace strung with medallion-shaped egg pouches. Each pouch of the string contains numerous protoconchs (baby whelks), similar in appearance to adults but with fewer whorls and less sculpture.

Human use

When used for cooking in the United States, busycon whelks are sometimes called ''scungilli'', an Italian-American adaptation of the Neapolitan ''sconciglio'' which means the meat of a (usually edible) sea snail.

Species

The genus ''Busycon'' contains the following species:list of Busycon species at malacolog.org
/ref>
* '' Busycon carica'' (Gmelin, 1791) - Knobbed whelk
* '' Busycon contrarium'' (Conrad, 1840) †

;Species brought into synonymy:
* ''Busycon (Sinistrofulgur) aspinosum'' Hollister, 1958: synonym of ''Sinistrofulgur sinistrum'' (Hollister, 1958)
* ''Busycon (Sinistrofulgur) perversum'' (Linnaeus, 1758): synonym of '' Sinistrofulgur perversum'' (Linnaeus, 1758)
* ''Busycon (Sinistrofulgur) sinistrum'' Hollister, 1958: synonym of ''Sinistrofulgur sinistrum'' (Hollister, 1958)
* ''Busycon amoenum'' Conrad, 1875: synonym of '' Brachysycon amoenum'' (Conrad, 1875) †
* ''Busycon blakei'' Conrad, 1855 †: synonym of '' Pseudoperissolax blakei'' (Conrad, 1855) †
* ''Busycon candelabrum'' Lamarck, 1816 - Splendid whelk: synonym of '' Lindafulgur candelabrum'' (Lamarck, 1816)
* ''Busycon coarctatum'' (Sowerby I, 1825): synonym of '' Busycoarctum coarctatum'' (G.B. Sowerby I, 1825)
* ''Busycon laeostomum'' Kent, 1982 - Snow whelk: synonym of '' Sinistrofulgur laeostomum'' (Kent, 1982)
* ''Busycon lindajoyceae'' Petuch, 1991 †: synonym of '' Lindafulgur lindajoyceae'' (Petuch, 1991) †
* '' Busycon lyonsi'' Petuch, 1987: synonym of '' Lindafulgur lyonsi'' (Petuch, 1987)
* ''Busycon muricatum'' Röding, 1798: synonym of '' Busycon carica'' (Gmelin, 1791)
* ''Busycon perversum'' - Lightning whelk: synonym of '' Sinistrofulgur perversum'' (Linnaeus, 1758)
* ''Busycon plagosum'' Conrad, 1862: synonym of ''Fulguropsis plagosa'' (Conrad, 1863)
* ''Busycon pulleyi'' - Prickly whelk: synonym of ''Sinistrofulgur pulleyi'' (Hollister, 1958)
* ''Busycon sinistrum'' Hollister, 1958: synonym of ''Sinistrofulgur sinistrum'' (Hollister, 1958)

The following species have been moved from ''Busycon'' to the genus ''Busycotypus''
* ''Busycotypus canaliculatus'' (Linnaeus, 1758) Channeled whelk. ''Busycotypus canaliculatus'', is slightly smaller than the knobbed whelk, and has a smooth shell with a deep square channel which is continuous on all the whorls, just below the suture of the shell.

References

Röding P. F. (1798). Museum Boltenianum sive Catalogus cimeliorum e tribus regnis naturae quae olim collegerat Joa. Fried. Bolten M. D. p. d. Pars secunda continens Conchylia sive Testacea univalvia, bivalvia et multivalvia

{{Taxonbar, from=Q291491

Gastropod genera
Busyconinae
Taxa named by Peter Friedrich Röding