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Home My WebLink AboutJuly 22, 2004 - Another tale by the snail July 22, 2004 • The Suffolk Times no er a e . � snal 9nx� ; I. l {�� i nN��ra o�_r r^"n "d: �� „ �� `�� '� � � �M q� �� '��"p � '�l, . l� r �l '� r /N�i l .r uAf' � l� ^."�ll" ��. � � w �� . a.. y �� lx �%rvNi �� i�Y ri� ��. � mn . ,y�dq� � �An �� . p�p � '� . � � .. � �+"Nl� ri -� � . :. � d� �� '.��u�l r� � o� r �u in„d, ii�%4i ,� n� �� l,�haN�'/uu,�� '� r � u�wrr %' ' + � ti a+��vr�^� ,� i��u� . ,� ��i�uzi� �y .,�� i l,� � �A 4�� lv �Nl r r ixr � � � � � I rl i r"Wl� �Y �' � ,i �Y� H �� v .� �, �� j� � ��re�� /;H��/��"A�� +�, ''�n�r � ��b M, i �r�, � 4�y� h � i A��lr� %�� "�� u�� 'U�"�� , n%lli� i pM �q,�"�l�u � �h� , ,. � , n y��" � . w a �� /�� lr� � rr��C n'� „„„'''yyy'''� ��N'l��l�� µ��l ��l.i.�I rN N ��y,' ✓ �� '.l� w`� � / 1_ �� / � � .W �� I l�� bpl �. .1��,: ' r� . .ii'�� n µihb � � ��y�l�.�. � ��1�� I/ .• . � . y � � N� tl NI i � �� . . A N �mr.. ��1� ��/lh , � . .. . .p.� I i� . � I •� �,i. �, � k�'� i'�!I i� " �yd ` .�I ��. µ .P�ry.� y Ytl, .J� y .. � .. �' �'� �� M1�r . �� .: � , �� .,Ml � r ..... r ' . .aE"p. . �.. l . ' . .: �. MM ` „� � " � �� '� Times/Review photos by Paul Stoutenburgh ` �� '� ~� *� �.� ,� ,� � X, Left: It's not often you see both the female whelk � � � � � � � °.„ '�� ,�,;� , " >, and her egg case together, but here they are ..�W �^"� � �° ' � � '�� a'� � �� `- just after the string of eggs were produced. The � .w � • : �. �, �� ; ,rµ,, � �,� ` `��"� � warm water of summer will incubate the eggs. � ��„� � , � � Above: Sand collars, sometimes known as "cler- � '` "'"� "' ��. � �� men's collars," are sometimes found along �x<u�� r va,,�r �;Y"�,r��' � �,,, � �d,„Atir' , , gY � �; „�;�, ,„ � �b��;�'� , � �� . r � � our beaches. They are made by the moon snail " ,�' � Mr ; i �M'�ru � fu '�<a , w. � . � ,� � µ y , �, rw �ry „�� to protect its eggs. This is only half of one, as �y;, � �' ��'r�� " rv� �' �� , j� �i�� ,, ��d"�� ^� � �"'`�� they are very fragile and crumble easily when � i� H ,l i��iN ir��: l l R 1�� 1i ry 9 + �i � I I /et ', W �r�' , 2 d �:r�l�� ,,;�� ' �",, they dry out. RFMFMr�i:�z MF rRona last week? I' spiral shells gets washed up on our that little black mud snail that nobody beaches,and I must say they are beau- ��ays too much attention to because tiful-looking compared to me.There I'm so small and I'm usually found are two kinds ofthese big whelks.On around dead fish or something like likes to be called a knobbed whelk that.You know we spoke about some because it has bumps around its edge, of my relatives last week,and how and the other is called the channeled and where they whelk that is smooth around its edge live.Now I want and its shell is sort of hairy. ��(+jJ$ to tell you about They both get pretty big—five,six, ON my biggest rela- seven or more inches in length, tives you'll find depending on how old they are.They, NATU RE around here,the too,have that important thing like I 6y Paul �'�'helks. have,the trap door or operculum. Stoutenburgh Every once in That name always gets me.It protects a while one of them when something tries to get at their big empty them. e importan par a ou is moon snail is it has a tremendous foot that it When it is time to eat,they,like all travels on and is equipped with a spe- of us in the creeks and bays,look for cial attachment in the front that lets it some handy pickings and being main- bunow into the sand much better ly meat eaters they look particularly than we can.When it comes across a for a tasty,helpless clam to attack. sules the eggs soon develo into tin clam,it just wraps that big foot around Then their proboscis,that sort of fin- whelks.When the young helks arey it and gets out that special drill it has ger-like projection with its sharp cut- big enough,they crawl out of the tiny and starts drilling a hole in the help- ter,or radula,on the end of it,lets the hole in the top of the capsule and o less clam.When it gets through the whelk drill a hole into its prey.Most o out on their own.With all those h n- hole,it can eat out all the insides of its victims are bivalves,which means dreds of young whelks being born, the clam.The shell of the moon snail they have two shells.Most bivalves are you'd think there would be a lot of is as pretty as any shell I ever get to stationary like clams,oysters,and mus- them about but no most are eaten b y an occasionally be sels and can't do much to et awa . ' � > y see.I hear the c g Y crabs,fish and such.I come across found on the beaches where they get Some people call these local whelks these egg cases every once in a while washed up and then dried out. "conchs,"but they are really whelks as I crawl about looking for something Now,you thought the channel because conchs are mostly found to eat. whelk and the knobbed whelk had down in the more tropical waters and Sometimes they do break loose and fancy egg cases.Well,you won't live mostly on plants while whelks eat come up on the beach and dry out and believe this moon snail;it makes a col- meat from clams,oysters,mussels,etc. all the little ones inside die.I see kids lar of mucous in the sand— at least it You know,we snails go back mil- on the beach opening up these cases looks like a co ar—in which she lions of years and have created a pret- and having fun finding all the tiny lit- places her eggs.The egg cases are ty good place for ourselves in the tle dried up whelks inside.I'm told sometimes called"clergymen's col- world.Not too long ago when there you can find these big snails or whelks lars."I've heard that these collars were Indians about,I'm told they anywhere from Cape Cod,Mass., sometimes wash up on the beach would eat the whelks and use the down to Florida.They are usually where they dry out and become very shells to make beads.They used the found in shallow water.I've been told delicate and crumble easily.Scientists inner spirals,which are very beautiful that baymen put what they call"conch sa that over a half a million swim- with colors like yellow,orange,pink pots"out in the bay but I never get fa m ng larvae are produced that eventu- and soft brown,and the inside of the enough out to see them.Some people ally turn into moon snails.But like all clam shell,which produced the purplc make a living collecting these big things in nature only a few survive;the colored wampum.Right here at Fort snails and selling them.They tell me rest supply the water kingdom with Corchaug on the East End of Long they are pretty tough to eat and ou Island was one of the great places for have to know how to cook them.The We snails go essential food. producing wampum.Our ancestors Italians know how to cook them. One last thing tell us Dutch ships used to come right Scungilli marinara is a well-known back millions about this relative into our bays and trade with the dish of tomato sauce with basil of years and of mine,the moon Indians to get their wampum because regano and hot pepper seeds.Bo , have created snail,is that mon- in those da s no one used dollars and g y strous big foot Y m I lad we mud snails are too small cents like people do today.So the to be bothered with. a p�� g00� that makes it so Indians not only ate the whelks and pIBC@ f01' 011l'- easy for it to trav- clams but used their shells as well. The last relative I'm going to tell el under the sand Let me tell you about the interest- You about is a big round snail with a selves in the sometimes gets in ing egg cases of these whelks.After smooth shell.Probably it's smooth world. its way when a the whelks mate,the female produces because this snail bunows under the predator sand to find a clam to feast on.It's a long string of nickel-sized capsules. approaches.It has to pull in that big These long strings are attached to called the moon snail.Now why would foot all the way back into that shell. it be called a moon snail?I could � stones or something to hold them in That s quite a job.The problem is that place so the egg cases don't get never figure that out.Maybe iYs with all that inside the shell,the snail washed away before they have a because it is round like the moon. � , Nevertheless,it is round but still has can t breathe for very long,so it s only chance to mature.Inside these cap- a short-lived protection.So there you that spiral that we snails all have and have it,from the tiny mud snail like grows as big as an apple sometimes. me to the great big whelks.Keep your eyes out for all of us as you walk along the beach.