This animal feeds on clams, oysters, mussels and other bivalves. To feed, the snail uses its foot to hold prey while the lip of its shell chips and pries at the bivalve. Once a big enough hole has opened, the snail inserts its foot and begins to feed.

Do whelks eat dead fish?

They feed mostly on dead fish but are capable of drilling holes in the shells of bivalves using an organ called the radula. The radula is a tooth-covered drill used to bore a small hole into the hard shell of other mollusks. After drilling the hole, the New England dog whelk can feed upon the soft flesh of its prey.

What are the predators of whelks?

They consume bivalves (invertebrates with two shells), especially oysters, clams, and scallops, as the mainstay of their diet. Among the lightning whelk's predators are gulls, crabs, and other whelks.