The Nassariidae, Nassa mud snails (USA), or dog whelks (UK), are a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the clade Neogastropoda.
These snails have rounded shells with a high spire, an oval aperture, and a siphonal notch.
Distribution
This family of snails is found worldwide.
Habitat
These snails are found mostly in shallow water, on sandy or muddy substrates, often intertidally, but sometimes in deep water. They can be present in very large numbers in suitable habitat.
Feeding habits
Nassariidae are primarily active and lively scavengers.
Taxonomy
The family Nassariidae is closely related to the family of the true whelks, Buccinidae, because of their shared characteristics in the anatomy of the species in these families, ), i.e. a long proboscis, the loss of glandular dorsal folds, and a smaller gland of Leiblein (a dorsal venom gland in the mid-oesophagus).
According to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi (2005) the family Nassariidae consists of four subfamilies:
