Patella vulgata (common European limpet) 4 (24232112593)

Description:

Description: Patella vulgata Linnaeus, 1758 - common European limpet (slightly oblique interior view) (public display, Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum, Sanibel Island, Florida, USA) The gastropods (snails & slugs) are a group of molluscs that occupy marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments. Most gastropods have a calcareous external shell (the snails). Some lack a shell completely, or have reduced internal shells (the slugs & sea slugs & pteropods). Most members of the Gastropoda are marine. Most marine snails are herbivores (algae grazers) or predators/carnivores. Limpets are unusual gastropods - their shells are cap-shaped instead of being tightly coiled. Limpets frequent hard substrates in intertidal zones and are algae/biofilm grazers. The common European limpet shown above is part of the Lusitanian Province: "Concentrated in the mild temperatures of the Mediterranean Sea, and extending to the warmer waters of the Canary Islands and the cooler areas of France and Great Britain, is a fairly rich fauna. These waters support dozens of unique species, such as Jacob's scallop, the oxheart cockle and the European pelican's foot." [info. from museum signage] Classification: Animalia, Mollusca, Gastropoda, Patellidae Locality: unrecorded/undisclosed/unspecified More info. at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patella_vulgata. Date: 2 January 2016, 16:25. Source: Patella vulgata (common European limpet) 4. Author: James St. John.