See text Fulgur Montfort, 1810 Busycon is a genus of very large edible sea snails in the subfamily Busyconinae.

Busycon whelks are scavengers and carnivores, equipped with a proboscis tipped with a file-like radula used to bore holes through the shells of barnacles, clams, crabs, and lobsters.

The knobbed whelk, Busycon carica, is the second-largest species, growing up to 30 cm long.

Each pouch of the string contains numerous protoconchs (baby whelks), similar in appearance to adults but with fewer whorls and less sculpture.

When used for cooking in the United States, busycon whelks are sometimes called scungilli, an Italian-American adaptation of the Neapolitan sconciglio which means the meat of a (usually edible) sea snail.