Sinistrofulgur sinistrum · Busyconidae
How to identify a lightning whelk
Aperture opens on the left when the spire points up — the diagnostic left-handed coil. Pale cream to grey with vertical brown 'lightning' streaks on juveniles.
- Left-handed (sinistral) coil — aperture on the left
- Vertical lightning streaks on juveniles fading with age
- Long anterior siphonal canal
- Family
- Busyconidae
- Class
- Gastropod
- Regions
- East Coast · Gulf Coast
- Habitat
- Sandy Intertidal · Grass Flats · Shallow Subtidal
- Best seasons
- Spring · Summer · Fall
- Collector level
- Intermediate
Common along parts of Florida's Gulf coast; less frequent north of the Carolinas.
Collect with care
- Never collect live specimens — check for a live animal in the aperture.
In your journal
- Note the coil direction the moment you pick a whelk up — sinistral coils are diagnostic.
- Record the beach, tide stage, and weather that produced this find.