Real Live Lightning Whelk Mollusk

A living lightning whelk with a pretty shell gave me some nice photos to take home.

lightning whelk mollusk shell

The lightning whelk seashell is one of my favorites, with it’s stripes and long shell opening. It can grow to quite a big shell also. I have seen many of these shells, and have some in my collection, but this is the first time I have found a live mollusk inside a lightning whelk shell.

I have a little video below where you can see it moving along the sand.

lightning whelk shell
Living Lightning Whelk

This shell had a particularly white spire – top swirl – which was quite unqiue. Instead of finding a hermit crab dangling his legs out of the opening, I saw the snail! Honestly, I didn’t expect that when I saw the shell moving around on the soft sand of the river bottom. Once the snail dies, I’m betting a hermit will move in. I may come across this shell again on my adventures.
lightning whelk mollusk shell
This is one of the whelks found in Florida.
Screen Shot 2017-07-21 at 4.30.02 PM

Author: Pam

Spending time on the water is the best, and blogging about the sea life found along the saltwater river and ocean is what I do. I’m also a designer at Zazzle and sell my work, with a lot of ocean themes, on the site.

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