Neptunea antiqua

Neptunea antiqua, common name the red whelk, is a species of Northeast Atlantic sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Buccinidae, the true whelks.[1]

Red whelk
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Neogastropoda
Superfamily:
Buccinoidea
Family:
Buccinidae
Genus:
Neptunea
Species:
N. antiqua
Binomial name
Neptunea antiqua

Description

N. antiqua resembles Buccinum undatum (common whelk). It can grow to a length of 20 cm (7.9 in),[2] although most specimens only reach half that size.[3] It is the largest marine snail in parts of its range.[2]

Distribution

N. antiqua is found in the Northeast Atlantic along cold-temperate European coasts, ranging from the low water mark[4] to a depth of 1,200 m (3,900 ft).[3]

Eggs of Neptunea antiqua

Feeding

N. antiqua is primarily a scavenger, although it has been recorded attacking and eating some living polychaete species.[4] Unlike several of its more predatory relatives, experiments have shown that even hungry N. antiqua are not attracted to living undamaged mussels.[4]

Food poisoning
Tetramethylammonium chloride, the principal toxin in red whelks

N. antiqua contains tetramethylammonium salts (most likely the chloride) in its tissues, and has been the source of non-lethal human poisoning. [5]

References
  1. Neptunea antiqua (Linnaeus, 1758). Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 17 April 2010.
  2. Naturstyrelsen: Rødkonk. Archived 11 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  3. MarLIN: Red whelk - Neptunea antiqua. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  4. Pearce and Thorson (1967). The feeding and reproductive biology of the red whelk, Neptunea antiqua (L.) (Gastropoda, Prosobranchia). Ophelia 4(2): 277–314.
  5. U. Anthoni, L. Bohlin, C. Larsen, P. Nielsen, N. H. Nielsen, and C. Christophersen (1989). "The toxin tetramine from the "edible" whelk Neptunea antiqua." Toxicon 27 717–723.
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