The Common Limpet (Patella vulgata)

Limpets are gastropods with simple cone-shaped shells.  The majority of limpets are herbivores which live by grazing up films of algae by means of radula—an organ which is a tongue covered in rows of teeth.  The most salient feature of limpets is their incredible tenacity. They cling to rocks and other haed surfaces with incredible tenacity—to such an extent that they have become synonymous with tenacity and obduracy.  Brute force will not compel a limpet to stop clamping to a favored surface and the animal will allow itself to be destroyed before giving up its grip.

There are a number of limpet-like gastropods but the true limpets are named Patellogastropoda.  The majority are tiny—less than 8 cm (3 inches) although a few larger species are known.  Some limpets have a “home scar” on their favorite rock—a niche which fits them carefully and where they are perfectly camouflaged.  Such limpets tend to be territorial and will fight for the grazing rights to algae near their scar.

Although limpets are most familiar to people at the tidal line (where rockbound limpets survive above the low tide line by adhering to rocks and tightly maintaining moisture) the creatures exist in numerous different marine ecosystems, including the depths of the sea, coral reefs, whale skeltons, seagrass forests, black smokers, and cold seeps.  The deepwater limpets are probably detritivores.  Limpets begin sexual life as males, but when they mature to a couple of years old they turn female. Young limpets undergo a brief larval stage before clamping down on a hard surface and stating to graze or forage.

A limpet shell pillbox

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