Species group · Gastropods
WAnimals has 2 species of limpet, spread across 2 families (Fissurellidae, Patellidae).
Ranges calculated from the profiles that record the figure, not from all 2.
Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.
No species documented in this group is genuinely at risk according to the IUCN, with the data available today.
Recorded in 36 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:
Its radular teeth, reinforced with goethite fibres, are the strongest biological material in tension ever measured, ahead of spider silk.
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It practises homing: it wears a scar into the rock that matches the rim of its shell exactly, and always returns to the same spot after feeding.
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By grazing it stops algae from colonising the rock, which shapes the whole intertidal community.
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The hole at the apex is an outlet for water and waste: a one-way circulation system that keeps the gills from being fouled.
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The mantle can fold back over the edge of the shell and partly cover it.
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It is not a true limpet. Keyhole limpets have a hole at the apex of the shell through which they expel respiratory water and waste, so that intake and outflow are separate.
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