Patella pellucida

Blue-Rayed Limpet
File:Blue Rayed Limpet John Bishop.jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Archeaogastropoda
Family:	Patellidae
Genus:	Patella
Species:	P. pellucidum
Binomial name
Petella pellucidum Linnaeus, 1758

The Blue-Rayed Limpet Patella pellucidum (sometimes referred to as Helcion pellucidum) is a small limpet belonging to the family Patellidae, a type of mollusc.

Up to 15mm long when fully grown, it is easily identified by its translucent amber shell with brilliant blue spots running in lines across the top of the shell.

It grows primarily on Laminaria (kelp) but can also be found on Fucus serratus. The larvae settle and metamorphose on the frond where it feeds on its host’s tissue using its radula, leaving small depressions in the frond. As the limpets grow they move down the stipe of the seaweed towards the holdfast where it establishes itself by excavating a hole. This weakens the holdfast, eventually resulting in the seaweed being dislodged by storms. The seaweed is often washed ashore, with the blue-rayed limpet still attached.

Distribution

Lives primarily on kelp in the lower shore, to about 30 meters. Found on East Atlantic coasts from Iceland and Norway, to Portugal; absent from Baltic, East Denmark, Belgium and Holland.

External links

• General biology of Blue-Rayed Limpets