Common limpet
| Common limpet | ||||||||||||
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Limpets in their natural environment |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Patella vulgata | ||||||||||||
| Linnaeus , 1758 |
The common limpet ( Patella vulgata ) is a species of snail that is found mainly in algae-rich areas of most of the rocky coasts.
Features and way of life
Its bowl-shaped bowl resembles a low sugar loaf. It reaches a length of up to 60 mm. The limpets get smaller and smaller the closer they sit to the waterline. On the outside it is grooved with coarse rays, often greenish or brownish, inside glossy pearlescent, with alternating white and dark brown radiating stripes. The limpets live firmly attached to rocks and stones in the tidal or surf zone or the supra- and eulittoral . With its irregular shell edge, it adapts perfectly to small unevenness in the surface.
Limpets use their radula to grate the algae growth on the rock on which they live. Their slime track, on which they move, helps them to orientate themselves so that the same areas are not visited repeatedly. In addition, the limpets' slime supports the growth of new algae on the rock.
The limpets only leave their location at night to graze on vegetation. It is noteworthy that it returns to its original location at daybreak. Limpets defend their pastures against conspecifics and other competing barnacles and mussels by ramming them with their shells. The population density of P. vulgata decreases with increasing algae growth .
The limpets are very resilient, they can withstand a short time on dry land, e.g. B. at low tide . It also survives the “desalination” of the surrounding water during rainfall or other freshwater inflows.
According to a study at the University of Portsmouth, the limpets' teeth are the hardest known biological material, thus replacing the spider silk as the hardest material. The teeth are a composite material made from a protein matrix and goethite , a very hard material that is embedded in the matrix as nanofibers . These lead to a measured strength of 3 to 6.5 GPa. It has also been found that strength is independent of the size of the structure. Typically, such structures tend to decrease in strength with size due to imperfections in the system.
The storage areas of limpets can be recognized by the round shell tracks that are caused by the limpets by turning the shell against the ground. When the limpets go to their location, they can cling to the rock particularly close due to the already existing shell impression. There is a large, circular suction cup on the underside of a limpet. At the front end is her head with two tentacles . Most of the inside of the shell is covered by the mantle , the edge of which is provided with further smaller tentacles. Between the mantle and the foot is the mantle groove, in which the gills are located. Limpets do not have comb gills, but numerous gill threads to breathe. Limpets are found in the Atlantic , the English Channel, the North Sea and the Mediterranean .
Limpets have been used as food since the Magdalenian era and their remains often form large clams . Overuse led to a reduction in the size of the snails. The bowls were also used as jewelry in the past.
Their taste is roughly the same as that of known mussel species. They are edible both raw and cooked; however, they are rarely used nowadays as snails .
literature
- Matthias Bergbauer, Bernd Humberg: What lives in the Mediterranean? . Franckh-Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3440077330 .
- J. Lellak, A. Cepicka: Mussels and water snails . Bertelsmann-Verlag, Bielefeld 1989, ISBN 3570060799 .
- Cabral, JP, da Silva, ACF, Morphometric analysis of limpets from an Iron-Age shell midden found in northwest Portugal J Archaeol Sci 30, 2003.
swell
- Classification: Costello, MJ; Bouchet, P .; Boxshall, G .; Emblow, C .; Vanden Berghe, E. (2004). European Register of Marine Species ( http://www.marbef.org/data/erms.php ). Retrieved November 22, 2006. Record
Individual evidence
- ↑ Extreme strength observed in limpet teeth Barber AH, Lu D, Pugno NM. 2015 Extreme R. Soc. Interface 12: 20141326. Retrieved February 19, 2015
