- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Mollusca
- Class: Gastropoda
- Subclass: Caenogastropoda
- Order: Neogastropoda
- Superfamily: Buccinoidea
- Family: Buccinidae
- Scientific name: Buccinum undatum
- Norwegian: kongesnegl
Characteristics:
Adults can exceed 10 cm from the opening to the cone top. Fine growth lines developed run crosswise the spirals, producing a pattern of squares. The shell has 7 or 8 whorls, where the last whorl covers more than half the length. The aperture (shell opening) is oval.
Habitat:
The common whelk can be found on both soft and hard substrate, on any depth from the subtidal zone and down to 1200 meters.
Distribution:
It can be found, and is often abundant, from Iceland and northern Norway to the Bay of Biscay.