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LIMPET SHELLS FROM AROUND THE WORLD, SOME COMMON OTHERS COVETED BY COLLECTORS

    LIMPET SHELLS OF THE WORLD



  • Description. Limpet's are gastropods are mollusks(animal that dwells inside the shell) that create one shell. Limpets are a large group of flattened or elevated shells found along seashores worldwide. The Limpet outside shell can be smooth or radially ribbed. They are smooth on the inside and have a horseshoe shaped muscle impression. The animal (mollusk)stick tightly to rocks, the shape of their shell act as a barrier to wave action. Most Limpet Shells feed on algae, passing by as they cling to rocks in the shoreline tidal flow.



Blue Oval Limpet
    Blue Oval Limpet Shells



  • One Blue Oval LImpet Shell 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inch..... .85



Oval Limpets Hawaii
    Oval Limpets Hawaiian



  • Limpet is the common name for any of the marine gastropod mollusks comprising the order Patellogastropoda, characterized in extant forms by a flattened, conical or cap-shaped shell and a suckerlike foot without a protective operculum. Among mollusks in the subclass Ortho Gastropoda for which the term limpet is used are such marine forms as the keyhole limpets (Fissurellidae), slipper limpets (Calyptraeidae), hoof limpets (Hipponix), the opisthobranch notaspidean limpets such as Tylodina and Umbraculum, and the pulmonate false limpets (Siphonaria). The name also is used for the freshwater pulmonate river and lake limpets Ancylidae and Acroloxidae.



  • All living limpets (order Patellogastropoda) have flattened, cone-shaped or cap-shaped shells, with the apex of the shell commonly situated either at the center of the shell or somewhat towards the anterior (Lindberg 2005). All shells have concentric growth lines, and many species have additional radial ribs that extend from the shell margin to the apex (Lindberg 2005). Shells of subtidal species are typically white or pink in color and intertidal species are typically gray or drab brown with white spots and radial rays (Lindberg 2005). Many limpet shells are often covered in microscopic growths of green marine algae, which can make them even harder to see, as they can closely resemble the rock surface itself.



  • The majority of patellogastropoda species are commonly found adhering strongly to rocks or other hard substrates, looking like little bumps on the surface. They attach themselves to the substrate using pedal mucus and a muscular "foot." They move using wave-like muscular contractions of the foot when conditions are suitable for them to graze. They can also "clamp down" against the rock surface with very considerable force when necessary, and this ability enables them to remain safely attached, despite the dangerous wave action on exposed rocky shores. The ability to clamp down also seals the shell edge against the rock surface, protecting them from desiccation during low tide, despite their being in full sunlight.



  • Patellogastropoda are grazers, generally feeding on algae that grows on rocks or other surfaces. Limpets scrape up films of algae with a radula, a ribbon-like tongue with rows of teeth. In some parts of the world, certain smaller species of true limpet are specialized to live on seagrasses and graze on the microscopic algae which grow there. Other species live on, and graze directly on, the stripes (stalks) of brown algae (kelp).

    Limpets generally will remove diatoms, algal spores, and bits of plant matter from the substrate, with only a very few species able to feed directly on large algae (Lindberg 2004). Equal-size blunt radular teeth are common in species that feed on coral-line age, and unequal-sized, pointed radular teeth are common for species that graze rock substrates, and broad, flat-topped teeth are common on species that feed on marine angiosperms (Lindberg 2004).



  • Limpets are preyed upon by a variety of organisms, including starfish, predatory gastropods, shore-birds, fish, lizards, small mammals, seals, and humans. Oystercatchers and other shore birds can be especially voracious predators (Lindberg 2004). At high tide, moving patellogastropoda are vulnerable to aquatic predators, and at low tide are vulnerable to shore birds and mammals (Lindberg 2004).

    Limpets exhibit a variety of defenses, such as fleeing or clamping their shells against the substratum. The defense response can be determined by the type of predator, which can often be detected chemically by the limpet.

    Limpets found on exposed shores, which have fewer rock pools than sheltered shores and are thus in less frequent contact with water, have a greater risk of desiccation due to the effects of increased sunlight, water evaporation, and the increased wind speed. To avoid drying out, they will clamp to the rock they inhabit, minimizing water-loss from the rim around their base. As this occurs, chemicals are released that promote the vertical growth of the limpet's shell.



  • Larger limpet species are, or were historically, cooked and eaten in many different parts of the world. They have been part of diets for more than 150,000 years (Lindberg 2004). In Hawaii, limpets (Cellana species) are commonly known as ‘opihi (Lo 2007), and are considered a delicacy. In Portugal, limpets are known as lapas and are also considered to be a delicacy. Limpet size is believed to be reduced due to human predation (Lindberg 2004).

    Some limpet species are used in shell jewelry (Lindberg 2004). They also have appeared in art, with War: The Exile and the Rod Limpet (1842) being a well known classic in which Napoleon Bonaparte is seen contemplating a specimen of Patella while exiled on St. Helena (Lindberg 2004).

    Limpets also are used for biological monitoring of ecosystem health (Lindberg 2004).



  • One Oval Limpet Shell Hawaiian Polished 1 1/2 to 1/7/8 inches...... $.65



  • One Oval Polished Limpet Hawaiian 2 1/2 to 2 7/8 inches...... $.89



  • One Oval Hawaii Polished Limpit shell 2 to 2 1/4 inch...... .79



  • One Oval Hawaii Limpet shell polished 1 to 1 1/4 inch...... .55



    • Green Limpet Shells
      Green Limpets


    • DescriptionGreen Limpets are gastropods (mollusks that create a single shell to live in), they attach themselves to rocks in the intertidal area. These are excellent craft shells. In all, there are more than 400 species. Most are found in temperate waters distributed worldwide.


    • One Green Limpet shell 1/2 to 1 1/4 inches...... $.17



    Star Limpets
      The Star Limpet



    • DescriptionPatelloida Lottiidae, Star Limpets, sometimes called the Pacific Sugar Limpet. These are gastropods (mollusks that create a single shell) . They have seven or eight strong radiating ridges, with lesser ridges between, crossed by irregular concentric growth lines. They attach themselves to intertidal rocks . These are excellent craft shells. In all, there are more than 400 species. They are found in the Indo-Pacific region from the east Indian Ocean to the Northern Australian New Zealand shores.


    • Listing Picture Provides an excellent example of the dull grey and white outside shell and opaque white inside color, shape and markings of the Star Limpet shell.



    • One half pound of the Star Limpet shells 3/4 to 1 inch......$1.59





    Colored Limpet Pairs
      Multi Colored Hawaiian Limpet Pairs



    • One Multi Colored Hawaiian Limpet Pair two inch..... $1.75



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