A whelk is a large sea snail with a thick, spiral shell. If you've walked along a beach and found a sturdy, cone-shaped shell with ridges and whorls, you might have discovered a whelk shell. These shells often appear in beachcombers' collections because they're beautiful and durable enough to survive being tossed by waves.

Whelks live in oceans around the world, crawling along the seafloor hunting for food. They're carnivorous, feeding on clams, mussels, and other shellfish. A whelk uses its strong foot (the muscular part it moves on) to hold its prey while drilling through the other animal's shell with its rough, filelike tongue.

People in coastal regions have eaten whelks for thousands of years. In some countries, like England and Korea, whelk meat is still considered a delicacy. The meat is chewy and tastes somewhat like clam. Fishermen catch whelks using special traps called whelk pots.

These aren't the flashy, colorful shells you might see in gift shops, but their sturdy, practical design has helped whelks thrive in rough ocean conditions for millions of years.