236 American Se ash ells 



Busy con contrarium Conrad Lightning Whelk 



Plate 23-0 

 South Carolina to Florida and the Gulf States. 



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 



Plate 23k 

 Both sides of central Florida. 



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 



Plate 2311 



Cape Cod to St. Augustine, Florida. 



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. Com- 

 mon 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 



Plate 9g 

 North Carolina to Florida and the Gulf States. 



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 



