One Rapana Shells measuring approximately 3 inches.*******

One Rapana Shell measuring approximately 3 inches.

Orders usually process within 2 to 5 business days.

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Rapana venosa, common name the veined rapa whelk or Asian rapa whelk, is a large predatory sea snail a gastropod mollusc or welk in the family muricidae, the rock shells.

The shell of Rapana venosa is globose (rounded) and heavy, possessing a very short spire, a large body whorl, a strong columella and a deep umbilicus. The aperture is large and roughly ovate. Ornamentation is present externally as axial ribs, smooth spiral ribs ending in blunt knobs at both the shoulder and body whorl, and internally as small elongated teeth disposed along the outer lip margin. The external color varies from gray to reddish-brown, with dark brown dashes on the spiral ribs. Some specimens may have distinctive black/dark blue vein-like coloration patterns throughout the inner portions of the shell, usually originating from each individual tooth at the outer lip. A diagnostic feature for this species is the deep orange color found in the aperture and on the columella. The height of the shell cangrow to about 7 inches

The Rapana can be found across the western Pacific. It ranges from the Sea of Japan, East China Sea to the Bohai Sea.

Rapa whelks are carnivorous selective predatory gastropods whose main diet consists of a variety of other mollusk species, mainly epifaunal bivalves such as oysters and mussels and, but also clams, and the northern quahog. Prey are chosen by the whelk according to their species and size. Most snails feed by drilling a hole into their bivalve prey, but rapa whelks usually smother their prey by wrapping around the hinged region of the shell and feed by introducing their proboscis between the opened valves. The whelk can also secrete a thick mucus that may or may not contain biotoxins to weaken the prey.

REF: DAISIE European Invasive Alien Species Gateway. Rapana Venosa. Last updated 30 October 2006, accessed 3 April 2010.. Rapana Venosa (Valenciennes, 1846) Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 2 April 2010.