Lottia instabilis

Lottia instabilis
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Patellogastropoda
Family:	Lottiidae
Genus:	Lottia
Species:	L. instabilis
Binomial name
	Lottia instabilis; (Gould, 1846)
Synonyms
	Acmaea instabilis (Gould, 1846); Acmaea ochracea (Dall, 1871); Collisella instabilis (Gould, 1846); Collisella patina var. ochracea Dall, 1871; Lottia ochracea (Dall, 1871); Patella instabilis Gould, 1846;

Last updated November 25, 2023

Lottia instabilis is a species of sea snail, a true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Lottiidae. Common names include the unstable limpet, the unstable seaweed limpet and the rocking chair limpet.^[2] It is native to the northern Pacific Ocean where it feeds on kelp in the intertidal zone and the shallow sub-littoral zone.

Description

The shell of Lottia instabilis is specially adapted by the shape of its rim to adhere to the holdfasts and stipes of kelp. The sides of the rim are elongated and nearly parallel, but both anterior and posterior end are raised up; this means it cannot lie flat and seal itself to a level surface but it can seal to a curved surface. The shell is smooth with an even margin. It is often mainly brownish, and may be paler near the apex, which is somewhat towards the anterior end of the shell. The interior of the shell is bluish-white, sometimes with a dark margin and a dark blotch near the apex.^[2] Individuals in the northern part of the range tend to have solid shell colors and be larger than those in the south, which tend to have tesselated patterns of brown and gray on their shells.^[3]

Distribution and habitat

Native to the northeastern Pacific Ocean, L. instabilis is present from Kodiak Island, off the coast of Alaska, to San Diego, California. It is often found on the holdfasts and stipes of kelp, at depths ranging from the intertidal zone down to about 73 m (240 ft).^[2] It also occurs on bare rock and sometimes on the shells of gastropod mollusks, including those occupied by hermit crabs.^[3]

Ecology

L. instabilis is a herbivore and feeds directly on kelps such as Saccharina dentigera ^[4] and Pterygophora californica .^[5] Being such a specialised feeder, it can essentially be considered to be a parasite of the kelp host.^[4] It is part of a genus whose rock-associated members are distributed widely in the Pacific Ocean and this species probably evolved in the Pacific, alongside its kelp hosts.^[5] The purple seastar (Pisaster ochraceus) is a predator of this limpet, and when the seastar approaches, the limpet flees.^[2]

Related Research Articles

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Lottia scabra or the rough limpet is a species of sea snail, a true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Lottiidae.

Diodora aspera, also known as the rough keyhole limpet, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Fissurellidae, the keyhole limpets. Although similar in appearance to a common limpet, it has a hole near the apex of its shell, and is only distantly related. It often has a scaled polychaete worm Arctonoe vittata living inside its shell as a commensal. In the event that it is attacked by a starfish, it extends flaps of mantle to defend itself, and the worm also helps drive the predator away.

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<i>Rhabdus rectius</i> Species of mollusc

Rhabdus rectius, also known as a straight tusk shell, is a species of scaphopod, a small marine mollusc native to the coast of central California whose shell, like that of all the members of its order, resembles a tusk. Most members of the scaphopoda have shells that exhibit a noticeable and characteristic anterior curvature— the shell of R. rectius, however, is unusually straight, hence the Latin word "rectius" in its binomial designation. R. rectius is a generalist carnivore found in shallow silty and sandy substrates. Aside from the usual diet of foraminiferans, it also eats sediment and fecal pellets. Its thin, straight shell becomes fragile when dehydrated. Some adult specimens are more than 10 centimetres (3.9 in) long, and have a maximum diameter of about 6 mm.

Serpula columbiana, variously called the calcareous tubeworm, plume worm, fan worm, limy tube worm and red tube worm, is a species of segmented marine polychaete worm in the family Serpulidae. It is a cosmopolitan species that is found in most seas in the Northern Hemisphere including the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean.

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Urechis caupo is a species of spoon worm in the family Urechidae, commonly known as the innkeeper echiuran, the fat innkeeper worm, the innkeeper worm, or the penis fish. It is found in shallow water on the west coast of North America, between southern Oregon and Baja California, where it forms a U-shaped burrow in the sediment and feeds on plankton using a mucus net.

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References

1 2 Rosenberg, Gary (2010). "Lottia instabilis (Gould, 1846)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 18 January 2019.
1 2 3 4 Cowles, Dave (2007). "Lottia instabilis (Gould, 1846)". Invertebrates of the Salish Sea. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
1 2 Light, Sol Felty (2007). The Light and Smith Manual: Intertidal Invertebrates from Central California to Oregon. University of California Press. p. 760. ISBN 978-0-520-23939-5.
1 2 Light, Sol Felty (2007). The Light and Smith Manual: Intertidal Invertebrates from Central California to Oregon. University of California Press. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-520-23939-5.
1 2 Vermeij, Geerat J. (1992). "Time of origin and biogeographical history of specialized relationships between northern marine plants and herbivorous molluscs". Evolution. 46 (3): 657–664. doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.1992.tb02073.x.

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[WoRMS-1] 1 2 Rosenberg, Gary (2010). "Lottia instabilis (Gould, 1846)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 18 January 2019.

[WallaWalla-2] 1 2 3 4 Cowles, Dave (2007). "Lottia instabilis (Gould, 1846)". Invertebrates of the Salish Sea. Retrieved 17 January 2019.

[Light-3] 1 2 Light, Sol Felty (2007). The Light and Smith Manual: Intertidal Invertebrates from Central California to Oregon. University of California Press. p. 760. ISBN 978-0-520-23939-5.

[Light25-4] 1 2 Light, Sol Felty (2007). The Light and Smith Manual: Intertidal Invertebrates from Central California to Oregon. University of California Press. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-520-23939-5.

[Vermeij-5] 1 2 Vermeij, Geerat J. (1992). "Time of origin and biogeographical history of specialized relationships between northern marine plants and herbivorous molluscs". Evolution. 46 (3): 657–664. doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.1992.tb02073.x.

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