Buccinum undatum, the common whelk or the waved buccinum, is a large, edible marine gastropod in the family Buccinidae, the "true whelks". [1]

Buccinum undatum minisculum H. J. Finlay, 1927 † · unaccepted (junior subjective synonym)

Distributed from Iceland and Norway to Bay of Biscay and throughout the North Atlantic. Occasionally intertidal but mainly subtidal down to 1200 m. Found on muddy sand, gravel and also rock. Sometimes present in brackish waters. From low water to 1200m. Stout shell up to 10 cm in height. 7-8 whorls last whorl 70% of height. Broadly oval aperture.

The Common Whelk Buccinum undatum is widely distributed on gravelly deposits in shallow water around the British Isles. When an individual dies, its empty shell often forms the basis for an extended mini-community. Whelk shells are the preferred choice of home for the hermit crab Pagurus bernhardus.

On various bottoms, even rocky but more commonly on sediments, from cold tidal pools down to circa 1200m deep. Predator on Cardiidae, Myidae but also on Polychaete worms, and occasionally scavenger, the species becomes rare below the continental shelf, as do the preys it feeds on. Synonyms: fragile, striatum, zetlandicum …

The common whelk, Buccinum undatum (Linnaeus, 1758), is a commercially valuable neogastropod species characterized by slow maturation rates, a mostly sedentary adult lifestyle, internal fertilization, and direct development of larvae (Himmelman, 1988; Himmelman & Hamel, 1993; Jalbert et al., 1989; Martel et al., 1986).

— Shell large, relatively fragile, broadly fusiform; protoconch not preserved; teleoconch of four strongly convex whorls separated by impressed linear suture; sculpture of weak spirals cords with secondaries variably developed; sinuous axial ribs variably developed on early whorls weakening abapically, obsolete on last 1 - 2 whorls; aperture lar...

Buccinum undatum var. flexuosa Jeffreys, 1867. Accessed through: Costello, M.J.; Bouchet, P.; Boxshall, G.; Arvanitidis, C.; Appeltans, W. (2021) European Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marbef.org/data/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=752747 on 2025-04-03

Temperate, preferred 11°C (Ref. 107945); 85°N - 36°N, 110°W - 45°E. Arctic, Northern Atlantic and the Mediterranean: Canadian Arctic Archipelago and the Atlantic Ocean. Temperate to polar climates.

The common whelk (Buccinum undatum L.) is a subtidal gastropod widely distributed in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is fished commercially in both Europe and Canada. The species is known for its...