Neptunea antiqua

{{Speciesbox | name = Red whelk | image = Ecomare - noordhoren (noordhoorn-1967-ogb).jpg | image_caption = Live individual of ''Neptunea antiqua'' | image2 = Neptunea antiqua 01.JPG | image2_caption = Shell | taxon = Neptunea antiqua | authority = (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonyms_ref = | synonyms = }}

'''''Neptunea antiqua''''', common name the '''red whelk''', is a species of Northeast Atlantic sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Buccinidae, the true whelks.<ref name="WoRMS">{{WRMS species|138920|''Neptunea antiqua'' (Linnaeus, 1758)||17 April 2010}}</ref>

==Description== ''N. antiqua'' resembles ''Buccinum undatum'' (common whelk). It can grow to a length of {{convert|20|cm|in|abbr=on}},<ref name=naturstyrelsen>Naturstyrelsen: ''[http://naturstyrelsen.dk/naturbeskyttelse/artsleksikon/dyr/bloeddyr/snegle/roedkonk/ Rødkonk.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911221205/http://naturstyrelsen.dk/naturbeskyttelse/artsleksikon/dyr/bloeddyr/snegle/roedkonk/ |date=11 September 2014 }}'' Retrieved 11 September 2014.</ref> although most specimens only reach half that size.<ref name=MarLIN>MarLIN: ''[http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=3900 Red whelk - Neptunea antiqua.]'' Retrieved 11 September 2014.</ref> It is the largest marine snail in parts of its range.<ref name=naturstyrelsen/>

==Distribution== ''N. antiqua'' is found in the Northeast Atlantic along cold-temperate European coasts, ranging from the low water mark<ref name=Pearce>Pearce and Thorson (1967). ''The feeding and reproductive biology of the red whelk, Neptunea antiqua (L.) (Gastropoda, Prosobranchia).'' Ophelia 4(2): 277–314.</ref> to a depth of {{convert|1200|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name=MarLIN/>

thumb|Eggs of ''Neptunea antiqua''

==Feeding== ''N. antiqua'' is primarily a scavenger, although it has been recorded attacking and eating some living polychaete species.<ref name=Pearce/> Unlike several of its more predatory relatives, experiments have shown that even hungry ''N. antiqua'' are not attracted to living undamaged mussels.<ref name=Pearce/>

==Food poisoning== [[File:Tetramethylammonium-chloride-ion-pair-2D.png|right|thumb|Tetramethylammonium chloride, the principal toxin in red whelks]]

''N. antiqua'' contains tetramethylammonium salts (most likely the chloride) in its tissues, and has been the source of non-lethal human poisoning. <ref>U. Anthoni, L. Bohlin, C. Larsen, P. Nielsen, N. H. Nielsen, and C. Christophersen (1989). "The toxin tetramine from the "edible" whelk ''Neptunea antiqua''." ''Toxicon'' '''27''' 717–723.</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neptunea Antiqua}} antiqua Category:Gastropods described in 1758 Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus