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American Seashells

Busy con contrarium Conrad Lightning Whelk Plate 23-0 South Carolina to Florida and the Gulf States. 4 to 16 inches in length, left-handed, with a row of moderately small, triangular knobs at the shoulder. Color grayish white with long, axial, wavy streaks of purplish brown which are blurred along their posterior edge. Albino shells are rare. Off Yucatan and rarely in Florida, right-handed specimens are found. Their siphonal canal is longer than that in B. carica, and the shell is lighter than that of perversum. A very common species in west Florida. Busy con perversum Linne Perverse Whelk Plate 23k Both sides of central Florida. 4 to 8 inches in length, very heavy and with a glossy finish. This species should not be confused with the common contrarium. This species can be either left-handed (formerly known as kieneri Philippi 1848) or right-handed (formerly known as eliceans Montfort 18 10, pi. 23k). The name B. perversum or Fulgur perversa in most old popular books refers to B. contrarhmi. The perverse whelk is an uncommon species. It is characterized by the heavy, polished shell and the swollen, rounded ridge around the middle of the whorl. Dredged from 4 to 10 fathoms. Subgenus Busy coty pus Wenz 1943 Busy con canaliculatum Linne Channeled Whelk Plate 2311 Cape Cod to St. Augustine, Florida. 5 to 7% inches in length, characterized by a deep, rather wide channel running along the suture and by the heavy, felt-like, gray periostracum. Com- mon in shallow, sandy areas. Left-handed specimens are rare. The subgenera Fulguropsis E. S. Marks 1950 and Sycofulgur Marks 1950 are the same as Wenz's subgenus. Busy con spiratum Lamarck Pear Whelk Plate 9g North Carolina to Florida and the Gulf States. 3 to 4 inches in length; characterized by its smooth, rounded shoulders and the deep, but narrow channel at the suture. Periostracum thin and velvety. Do not confuse with Ficus which is a much more fragile shell. Common in shallow, sandy, clear water areas. The animal is cream-gray. Known in all previous popular books as B. pyrum Dillwyn. In the western