An invader economical gastropod Rapana venosa (Valenciennes, 1846) in Canakkale and adjacent regions

An invasive veined whelk Rapana venosa (Valenciennes, 1846) is first recorded in 1946 around Novorossiysky Bay (Russia), Black Sea. This gastropod has been collected since 1994 in front of Gelibolu (Canakkale, Turkey). It is possible that they enter this region from Black Sea through shipping activities and natural invasion. R. venosa is known as predatory gastropod which feeds on important commercial bivalves such as Mytilus galloprovincialis (Lamarck, 1819) and Pecten jacobaeus (Linnaeus, 1758). R. venosa feeds on the mussel beds in this region. R. venosa are collected by scuba diving and air-supply diving all year long.