Dogwinkle Snails

Dog winkles are also called dog whelks.

Channeled dogwinkles vary greatly in color from gray, yellowish to orange.

Often found moving around mussels or barnacles, eating them by drilling a hole through their shell.  Don’t expect to see a quick drilling job.  The dogwinkle can take 1-2 days to drill and and eat one animal.

Frilled dogwinkle (Nucella lamellosa)

Very common snail with a spired shell that varies in color, pattern, size and amount of “ruffles.”

These pretty little shells can be very smooth, especially in high energy  wave areas.  They can also have lots of ridges and what looks like frills or ruffles.

Frilled Dogwinkle Fact Sheet– Slater Museum of Natural History

Striped dogwinkle

This snail looks very similar to the channeled dogwinkle, but instead of deep channels, has wide ridges that alternate with narrow ridges or stripes.