Common Whelk

Common whelk, Buccinum undatum, also called the waved whelk, is a large edible marine gastropod of the family Buccinidae, the true whelks, found in cold waters of the North Atlantic. Its heavy, spiral shell bears a distinctive wavy surface texture that gives the species its alternate common name, and it is a predatory and scavenging snail long harvested commercially as food across parts of northern Europe.