Sinistrofulgur perversum
{{Short description|Species of gastropod}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Busycon-contrarium.jpg
| image_alt =
| image_caption = Sinistrofulgur perversum found in France, with the operculum in place
| status =
| status_system =
| status_ref =
| genus = Sinistrofulgur
| species = perversum
| authority = (Linnaeus, 1758)
| synonyms =
- Busycon (Sinistrofulgur) perversum (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Busycon perversum (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Fulgur gibbosum Conrad, 1853
- Murex perversus Linnaeus, 1758 (original combination)
- Pyrula kieneri Philippi, 1848
| synonyms_ref =
| range_map = Repartition-busycon-contrarium2.jpg
| range_map_alt =
| range_map_caption = Range
}}
Sinistrofulgur perversum, the lightning whelk, is a species of very large predatory sea snail or whelk, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Busyconidae, the busycon whelks. This species has a left-handed or sinistral shell. It eats mostly bivalves.
There has been some disagreement about the correct scientific name for this species, which has been confused with Sinistrofulgur sinistrum Hollister, 1958, and Busycon contrarium (Conrad, 1840), which is an exclusively fossil species.J. Wise, M. G. Harasewych, R. T. Dillon Jr. (2004). [http://dillonr.people.cofc.edu/Mar_Biol_reprint.pdf Population divergence in the sinistral whelks of North America, with special reference to the east Florida ecotone] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120824001014/http://dillonr.people.cofc.edu/Mar_Biol_reprint.pdf |date=2012-08-24 }} (PDF; 673 kB). Marine Biology 145, pp. 1167–1179.Sartori, A. (2014). [http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=747340 Busycon contrarium (Conrad, 1840)]. World Register of Marine Species. Accessed on 2014-06-06
File:Sinistrofulgur perversum 01.jpg|Form with extensions
File:Sinistrofulgur perversum 02.jpg|Form without extensions
Distribution
This marine species is native to the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and southeastern North America, from New Jersey south to Florida and the Gulf states.
Habitat
Lightning whelks can be found in the sandy or muddy substrate of shallow embayments.
Life habits
''Sinistrofulgur perversum'' and ''Busycon carica''
This species shares many characteristics with another species, the knobbed whelk Busycon carica, but there are some important differences:{{citation needed|date=July 2018}}
- Lightning whelks are sinistral in coiling, whereas knobbed whelks are dextral
- Lightning whelks have a lower spire than the knobbed whelk
- The knobs of the lightning whelk are usually less well-developed than those of the knobbed whelk
- Lightning whelks are diurnal, while knobbed whelks are active both day and night
- Lightning whelks prefer to stay in deeper waters than the knobbed whelks when feeding on mud flats
Human use
For thousands of years Native Americans used these animals as food, and used their shells for tools, ornaments, containers and to make jewelry, i.e. shell gorgets.Starr F. 1897. A Shell Gorget from Mexico. [https://archive.org/stream/proceedingsofdav06dave#page/173/mode/1up Proceeding Davenport Academy of Natural Sciences, volume VI.] [https://archive.org/stream/proceedingsofdav06dave#page/173/mode/1up 173]-178. For example, the Indigenous peoples of Florida used their shells as hammers, axes, and cups; Floridan archaeologists have likened them to Swiss Army knives for their versatility.{{cite web |title=Archaeological Shells of Florida |url=https://flpublicarchaeology.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/shell_guide.pdf |publisher=Florida Public Archaeology Network |access-date=15 October 2024}} They may have believed the sinistral nature of the lightning whelk shell made it a sacred object. The Minnesota Woman (lived c. 6000 BCE in modern Minnesota) wore a Sinistrofulgur perversum shell.{{cite web|title=TimePieces: Trade |url=http://events.mnhs.org/TimePieces/EventDetail.cfm?EventID=533 |publisher=Minnesota Historical Society |access-date=2007-02-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041106001141/http://events.mnhs.org/Timepieces/EventDetail.cfm?EventID=533 |archive-date=2004-11-06 }}
The lightning whelk is the "State Seashell of Texas".{{cite book |last1=Hatch |first1=Rosie (Ed.) |title=Texas Almanac 2022-2023 |date=2022 |publisher=Texas State Historical Association |location=Austin, Texas |isbn=9781625110664 |page=23}}
Gallery
File:Core Banks - Whelk - 1.JPG|Live lightning whelk in North Carolina
File:Welk2.jpg|Abapertural view of a shell
File:Busycon sinistrum (egg case).jpg|Egg cases
File:Busycon contrarium egg capsules - Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History - DSC06673.JPG|Egg cases in a museum
References
{{Reflist}}
- Marquardt, W.M. 1992 Shell Artifacts from the Caloosahatchee Area. In Culture and Environment in the Domain of the Calusa, edited by W. H. Marquardt, pp. 191–228. Institute of Archaeology and Paleoenvironmental Studies, Monograph 1. University of Florida, Gainesville.
- Paine, Robert T. 1962 Ecological Diversification in Sympatric Gastropods of the Genus Busycon. Evolution 16(4):515-523.
- Pulley, T.E. 1959 Busycon perversum (Linné) and some related species. Rice Institute Pamphlet, 46:70-89.
- Wise, J.B., G. Harasewych, & R. Dillon. 2004. Population divergence in the sinistral Busycon whelks of North America, with special reference to the east Florida ecotone. Marine Biology, 145:1163-1179; SMSFP Contrib.538.
External links
{{Commons category|Sinistrofulgur perversum}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070622101032/http://crd.dnr.state.ga.us/content/displaycontent.asp?txtDocument=367 Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Snails of the Sea]
- [http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/lwhelk/ Texas Parks and Wildlife, lightning whelks]
{{Edible molluscs}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q30918058|from2=Q55147211|from3=Q12902713|from4=Q106103085}}
Category:Seafood in Native American cuisine
Category:Gastropods described in 1758