download pdf

236 American Seash ells
Busy con contrarium Conrad Lightning Whelk
South Carolina to Florida and the Gulf States.
Plate 23-0
4 to 16 inches in length, left-handed, with a row of moderately small,
triangular knobs at the shoulder. Color grayish white with long, axial, wavy
streaks of purplish brown which are blurred along their posterior edge.
Albino shells are rare. Off Yucatan and rarely in Florida, right-handed
specimens are found. Their siphonal canal is longer than that in B. carica, and
the shell is lighter than that of perversum. A very common species in west
Florida.
Busy con perversum Linne Perverse Whelk
Both sides of central Florida.
Plate 23k
4 to 8 inches in length, very heavy and with a glossy finish. This
species should not be confused with the common contrarium. This species
can be either left-handed (formerly known as kieneri Philippi 1848) or
right-handed (formerly known as eliceans Montfort 18 10, pi. 23k). The
name B. perversum or Fulgur perversa in most old popular books refers to B.
contrarhmi. The perverse whelk is an uncommon species. It is characterized
by the heavy, polished shell and the swollen, rounded ridge around the
middle of the whorl. Dredged from 4 to 10 fathoms.
Subgenus Busy coty pus Wenz 1943
Busy con canaliculatum Linne Channeled Whelk
Cape Cod to St. Augustine, Florida.
Plate 2311
5 to 7% inches in length, characterized by a deep, rather wide channel
running along the suture and by the heavy, felt-like, gray periostracum. Common
in shallow, sandy areas. Left-handed specimens are rare. The subgenera
Fulguropsis E. S. Marks 1950 and Sycofulgur Marks 1950 are the same as
Wenz's subgenus.
Busy con spiratum Lamarck Pear Whelk
North Carolina to Florida and the Gulf States.
Plate 9g
3 to 4 inches in length; characterized by its smooth, rounded shoulders
and the deep, but narrow channel at the suture. Periostracum thin and
velvety. Do not confuse with Ficus which is a much more fragile shell.
Common in shallow, sandy, clear water areas. The animal is cream-gray.
Known in all previous popular books as B. pyrum Dillwyn. In the western