Whelk, who might you be?

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Still keeping track of this guy. He’s grown to about 1/2 inch now and still seemingly not bothering anyone. He’s a fairly lazy guy as far as I can tell… sitting in the same places for days at a time or lazily letting the turbos carry him for a few days. Still wish I really knew what he is!

Unfortunately, I don't know what species it is, but based off of the shell it's highly like that it's a Muricid (Murex) snail of some variety - it's probably from the Muricinae subfamily, but I'm not entirely sure. So, it's not technically a whelk which would be from family Buccinidae (though the term is frequently used as a catch-all for all predatory snails), but it's still from a predatory family (Muricidae). I have heard but cannot confirm at this point that - like with the Buccinidae - not all Muricid snails are predators, just most of them are.

Regardless, if it hasn't caused you any problems, it's a very cool hitchhiker - I love the layers visible on the shell.

 

[Brit’s Fish]

Unfortunately, I don't know what species it is, but based off of the shell it's highly like that it's a Muricid (Murex) snail of some variety - it's probably from the Muricinae subfamily, but I'm not entirely sure. So, it's not technically a whelk which would be from family Buccinidae (though the term is frequently used as a catch-all for all predatory snails), but it's still from a predatory family (Muricidae). I have heard but cannot confirm at this point that - like with the Buccinidae - not all Muricid snails are predators, just most of them are.

Regardless, if it hasn't caused you any problems, it's a very cool hitchhiker - I love the layers visible on the shell.

I was actually just looking at pictures of Murex snails to see if that could be what he is. His shell does look like some of the less fancy varieties. I’m glad he’s been well behaved for so long because I have grown fond of him.
And yes - those frilly little layers are so cool! He’s a very pretty little guy.

 

[Brit’s Fish]

This little guy has been out on the glass again for the first time in months. He’s certainly grown & has to be close to 2 years old now. Still moving really slow and not seeming to cause any problems. Just keeping track of him because he’s interesting. The layers of his shell are pretty cool!