Nucella lamellosa
Frilled Dogwinkle
submitted by Skye
A Nucella lamellosa (frilled dogwinkle) from Shoreline Park, Port Moody (Photo by Skye)
Nucella lamellosa, formerly know as Thais lamellosa, commonly known as a dogwinkle, frilled dogwinkle, dog whelk, and wrinkled purple (Harbo 1997). It is a species of medium sized sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails (Morris 1980). The appearance of the shell is variable, some may have wavy frills on the shell, hence its common name, and others may have no frills or a smoother heavier shell. The colour can be white, light brown, grey, beige, and may have coloured bands. They grow up to 5 cm in height, generally with females being larger than males. Without human intervention N. lamellosa can live between 10-15 years, reaching sexual maturity at 4 years (Morris 1980).
They live on rocks with mud and sand substrate, usually in bays that are protected from harsh wave action and preferring areas with stable saline, most commonly at 30% salt and lower. N. lamellosa are found at the low intertidal level, where they are one of the larger animals and have steady access to their prey (Harbo 1997). They are predatory, commonly preying on mussels, barnacles, and periwinkles. They are native to the Pacific Northwest, ranging along the coast from the Bering Strait, Alaska to Central California. It can be inferred from their distribution that they prefer to inhabit cooler waters and they are more active in temperatures between 0-30 °C (Bertness 1977; Morris 1980).
The low intertidal zone where the frilled dogwinkle would have lived at Rocky Point, Port Moody prior to the water pollution from modern industry (Photo by Skye)
N. lamellosa breed in the spring in British Columbia, but further South in Central California, where water temperatures are warmer they also breed in the Winter (Morris 1980). When they reach sexual maturity they often join a breeding group to have access to mating partners. Egg capsules are deposited in sand by females and have varying rates of development due to temperature, though on average snails will leave the egg sack after 100 days. In this stage N. lamellosa is vulnerable to being preyed upon by other Nucella. The discarded N. lamellosa shells are often inhabited by the hermit crab Pagurus hirsuitusculus (Bertness 1977).
Shellfish, including the N. lamellosa, were a significant part of the diet of many coastal Nations, specifically the Tsleil-Waututh. Although, currently the Tsleil-Waututh people are unable to harvest shellfish as they are not safe to eat due to pollution from modern industry. The Tsleil-Waututh people, who actively harvested fish and shellfish in the past will have an increasingly limited ability to do so, even in limited quantities, if the development of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Expansion Project continues (Morin 2015). In the past, shellfish were a major component of the Tsleil-Waututh subsistence economy as they were traded to other Nations as well as used during ritual and ceremony for feasting. They were harvested both for immediate use and to be preserved for later use. Morin (2015) describes the harvesting of shellfish as being an integral part of the Tsleil-Waututh culture.
References Cited
Bertness, M.D.
1977 Behavioural and ecological aspects of shore-level gradients
in Thais lamellose and Thais emarginata. Ecology 58:86-97.
Harbo, Rick M.
1997 Shells and Shellfish of the Pacific Northwest: A Field Guide
Harbour Publishing, Madiera Park, BC.
Morin, Jesse
2015 Tsleil-Waututh Nation’s History, Culture and Aboriginal
Interests in Eastern Burrard Inlet (Redacted Version).
Tsleil-Waututh Nation Sacred Trust, Vancouver.
Morris, R.H., D.P. Abbot, and E.C. Haderlie
1980 Intertidal Invertebrates of California. Stanford University
Press, Stanford.
into the field 