Common limpet — Patella vulgata

Overview

Patella vulgata has a ribbed shell up to 6 cm, a muscular foot and gills beneath the mantle, and no operculum. It lives on hard intertidal surfaces, grazing algae and microorganisms, and this grazing can shape rocky-shore communities.

Adults commonly return to a home scar, which improves the seal between shell and rock against drying; juveniles may wander before they begin homing. A 1992 time-lapse study on a sheltered vertical North Wales shore followed 36 limpets over 124 routes. Night excursions typically looped about 70 cm, reached about 25 cm from home, and returned along the limpet's own trail. Larger limpets went farther and for longer. These figures describe that site only.

Individuals usually mature as males and may later become female, though not all do. Fertilisation is external, larvae are planktonic, and spawning timing differs by region. Accounts of the southern range disagree: a summary mentions the Mediterranean, while detailed habitat notes stop at Portugal.

Origins & earliest records

A living species; the 1758 Linnaean authority dates the name, not the animal's origin.

Evidence & interpretation

Marine biology review and a North Wales field study.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Common limpet (Patella vulgata)

   Hill · 2008

   Selected bibliography; summary, biology review and life history read.

2. 02

   Factors affecting variability of foraging excursions in a population of Patella vulgata (Mollusca, Gastropoda)

   Della Santina, Santini & Chelazzi · 1995

   Selected bibliography; repository abstract only, not full paper.

Family, evolution & connections

Taxonomic classification

A hierarchy of classified groups, not a chain of direct ancestors.

Source note: Gastropoda; Patellidae; authority Linnaeus, 1758.

1. familyPatellidae
2. genusPatella

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. species reviewCommon limpet (Patella vulgata)Research access: 2026-10-06
2. repository abstractFactors affecting variability of foraging excursions in a population of Patella vulgata (Mollusca, Gastropoda)Research access: 2026-10-06

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.