arthritic neptune; Neptunea arthritica
A species of whelk found in East Asian waters. The name is a biological term; in everyday contexts it may simply be called a type of バイ or ツブ.
The arthritic neptune is a type of sea snail found along the coast of Hokkaido.
I bought some arthritic neptune at the market and grilled them in their shells.
エゾボラ (Neptunea polycostata) is a larger, more common whelk species; ヒメエゾボラ is smaller and less frequently encountered.
Katakana spelling is standard for this species name; usually written in kana.
Kanji spelling is very rare and mostly seen in taxonomic contexts; the word is usually written in kana.
The name combines 姫 (hime, 'princess' or 'small and delicate') with 蝦夷 (Ezo, old name for Hokkaido) and 法螺 (bora, 'whelk'), literally 'small Ezo whelk'. The exact derivation is uncertain, but it likely refers to its smaller size compared to the common エゾボラ.