ABSTRACT
The stenoglossan family Nassariidae belongs to the most advanced superfamily of neogastropods, the Buccinacea. It comprises a number of small to medium-sized whelks, living almost entirely on soft substrata and scavenging animal matter. The foot is characteristically very broad and thin, and often ends in two small posterior cirri. The distribution of the family is world-wide. Nassarius and its close relatives tend to be confined to mud, although a few species shelter among loose rocks (Kilburn & Rippey, 1982), while species belonging to the Bullia group (Bullia, Dorsanum, Buccinanops) are normally found on sandy substrata, particularly in sheltered bays. Some members of the genus Bullia are, however, adapted to life in the surf zones of high-energy sandy beaches and it is with these that the present review is chiefly concerned.
