BUCCINUM. 407 



denticular processes of the lateral teeth are few, large, and 

 strong; their limb narrow and blade-shaped. The nidus 

 is a rounded mass of wrinkled cartilaginous vesicles, each 

 containing usually two or four young ones, packed alter- 

 nately in opposite directions. 



The common whelk is universally distributed around 

 the British shores, varying, however, greatly in its cha- 

 racters according to locality. It is collected and taken in 

 lobster-creels, or baskets for bait or food ; great numbers 

 are constantly exposed for sale in London, simply boiled, 

 to be eaten with a little vinegar and pepper ; a poor man's 

 delicacy, but by no means a wholesome morsel. Dr. 

 Johnston mentions that at the enthronization feast of 

 William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1504, 

 no fewer than eight thousand whelks were supplied, at five 

 shillings for a thousand. 



This species first appeared in the British seas during 

 the age of the coralline crag, and persisted through all 

 succeeding epochs, becoming more and more abundant. 

 It is found from low-water-mark to as deep as one hundred 

 fathoms. It has a wide latitudinal range, now extend- 

 ing throughout the Celtic, Boreal, Arctic and Icy seas, 

 and along the coast of Boreal America, from Cape Cod 

 to Greenland. According to MiddendorfF, it finds its 

 way through the Siberian seas into the Sea of Ochotsk. 

 This great range in time and space accords with its 

 capacity for variation and adaptation to circumstances. 

 During the pleistocene epoch it had found its way into 

 the Mediterranean, and occurs fossil in the Sicilian newer 

 pliocene beds, but is now extinct in that region. 



