Patella vulgata

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Patella vulgata
Common limpets1.jpg
Live Patella vulgata on a rock in Wales
Patella vulgata 01.JPG
Shell of Patella vulgata
Scientific classification
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P. vulgata
Binomial name
Patella vulgata
Synonyms [1]
  • Patella conicaAnton, 1838
  • Patella hypsiloteraLocard, 1892
  • Patella radiataPerry, 1811
  • Patella vulgata var. aureaDautzenberg & Durouchoux, 1906
  • Patella vulgata var. communisBrown, 1844
  • Patella vulgata var. elevataJeffreys, 1865
  • Patella vulgata var. majorDautzenberg & Durouchoux, 1906
  • Patella vulgata var. secernendaDautzenberg, 1887

Patella vulgata, common name the common limpet or common European limpet [2] is a species of sea snail. It is a typical true limpet; a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Patellidae, with gills. [1] This species occurs in the waters of Western Europe.

Contents

Radula

The radula in this species is longer than the shell itself. It contains 1,920 teeth in 160 rows of 12 teeth each. Patella vulgata is found attached to firm substrates from the high shore to the edge of the sublittoral zone, although it predominates in areas of wave action. Its shell is conical, up to around 6 cm long, and lacks defined chirality. Common limpets are believed to be able to live for up to twenty years. [3]

Patella vulgata has been the focus of a range of scientific investigation, as far back as 1935. [4] Its development is well described [5] and it has been the focus of transcriptomic investigation, providing a range of genomic sequence data in this species for analysis. [6]

Their teeth are the strongest natural material known. A study published in the Royal Society journal in 2015 concluded that "the tensile strength of limpet teeth can reach values significantly higher than spider silk, considered to be currently the strongest biological material, and only comparable to the strongest commercial carbon fibres.” The material was able to withstand 4.9 GPa. This considerable tensile strength of limpet teeth is attributed to a high mineral volume fraction of reinforcing goethite nanofibres. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

Patella browsing marks Patella vulgata broutage 3993.jpg
Patella browsing marks

Human consumption

The common limpet was formerly eaten in Ireland, especially during times of hunger such as the Great Famine of 1845–50; it was known to be very tough and had to be thoroughly boiled or roasted to be edible. [12] One Irish proverb said that "Mussels are the food of kings, limpets are the food of peasants." [13] Tomas O'Crohan described eating them in his memoir The Islandman. [14] They are also consumed in Asturias in Spain under the name "Llampares" and in Portugal under the name "Lapas".

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Limpet</span> Group of snails

Limpets are a group of aquatic snails that exhibit a conical shell shape (patelliform) and a strong, muscular foot. Limpets are members of the class Gastropoda, but are polyphyletic, meaning the various groups called "limpets" descended independently from different ancestral gastropods. This general category of conical shell is known as "patelliform" (dish-shaped). All members of the large and ancient marine clade Patellogastropoda are limpets. Within that clade, the members of the Patellidae family in particular are often referred to as "true limpets".

<i>Patella pellucida</i> Species of mollusc

Patella pellucida, common name the blue-rayed limpet, is a species of small saltwater limpet, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Patellidae, the true limpets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patellogastropoda</span> Clade of gastropods

The Patellogastropoda, common name true limpets and historically called the Docoglossa, are members of a major phylogenetic group of marine gastropods, treated by experts either as a clade or as a taxonomic order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patellidae</span> Family of gastropods

Patellidae is a taxonomic family of true limpets, marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Patelloidea. (The superfamily Patelloidea should not be confused with the similar-sounding genus of true limpets Patelloida which is in the family Lottiidae within the superfamily Lottioidea, also part of the Patellogastropoda.)

<i>Cellana exarata</i> Species of gastropod

Cellana exarata, common name the black-foot ʻopihi and Hawaiian blackfoot is a species of edible true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Nacellidae, one of the families of true limpets. ‘Opihi are significant in Hawaiian history where they have had many uses such as food, tools, and jewelry. They are known as a “fish of death.”

<i>Diodora graeca</i> Species of gastropod

Diodora graeca, the Greek keyhole limpet, is a sea snail or limpet, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Fissurellidae, the keyhole limpets.

<i>Cymbula adansonii</i> Species of gastropod

Cymbula adansonii is a species of sea snail, a true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Patellidae. It is one of the several families of true limpets. Marine gastropods, colloquially classified as snails and slugs, encompass the entire class of invertebrates in the Mollusca phylum. True limpets, are pelagic snails within the Patellidae family.

<i>Cymbula granatina</i> Species of gastropod

Cymbula granatina, the granite limpet, is a species of sea snail, a true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Patellidae, one of the families of true limpets. Unlike some other species of giant limpet, C. granatina is non-territorial, and feeds on a variety of different algae.

<i>Patella caerulea</i> Species of gastropod

Patella caerulea, is a species of limpet in the family Patellidae. It is known by the common names Mediterranean limpet and rayed Mediterranean limpet. It is native to the Mediterranean Sea.

<i>Patella ferruginea</i> Species of gastropod

Patella ferruginea, commonly known as the ferruginous limpet is a species of true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Patellidae. It is a large limpet, endemic to the western Mediterranean Sea, and although common in the past, it is now rare and restricted to only a few locations.

<i>Patella lugubris</i> Species of gastropod

Patella lugubris is a species of sea snail, a true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Patellidae, one of the families of true limpets.

<i>Patella rustica</i> Species of gastropod

Patella rustica, the Lusitanian limpet or rustic limpet is a species of sea snail, a true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Patellidae, one of the families of true limpets. It is a rocky shore intertidal mollusc found throughout the Mediterranean and the north-east Atlantic from Mauritania to southern France.

<i>Patella ulyssiponensis</i> Species of gastropod

Patella ulyssiponensis, common name the rough limpet, or China limpet is a species of sea snail, a true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Patellidae, one of the families of true limpets. Despite its common name, the China limpet is found throughout the Eastern North Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

<i>Scutellastra cochlear</i> Species of gastropod

Scutellastra cochlear is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Patellidae, one of the families of true limpets. It is commonly known as the snail patella, the pear limpet or the spoon limpet and is native to South Africa. It often grows in association with the crustose coralline alga Spongites yendoi and a filamentous red alga which it cultivates in a garden. It was first described by the malacologist Ignaz von Born in 1778 as Patella cochlear.

<i>Scutellastra flexuosa</i> Species of gastropod

Scutellastra flexuosa is a species of sea snail, a true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Patellidae, one of the families of true limpets.

<i>Emarginula fissura</i> Species of gastropod

Emarginula fissura, the common slit limpet, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Fissurellidae, the keyhole limpets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fissurellinae</span> Subfamily of gastropods

The subfamily Fissurellinae, common name the keyhole limpets and slit limpets, is a taxonomic subfamily of limpet-like sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Fissurellidae.

<i>Patella depressa</i> Species of gastropod

Patella depressa is a species of sea snail, a true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Patellidae, one of the families of true limpets.

In 1758, in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, the Swedish scientist and taxonomist Carl Linnaeus described the class "Vermes" as:

Animals of slow motion, soft substance, able to increase their bulk and restore parts which have been destroyed, extremely tenacious of life, and the inhabitants of moist places. Many of them are without a distinct head, and most of them without feet. They are principally distinguished by their tentacles. By the Ancients they were not improperly called imperfect animals, as being destitute of ears, nose, head, eyes and legs; and are therefore totally distinct from Insects.

References

  1. 1 2 Gofas, S. (2014). Patella vulgata Linnaeus, 1758. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=140685 on 2014-10-29
  2. "Edible Molluscs Page 6". www.manandmollusc.net.
  3. "Limpets". BritishSeaFishing.co.uk. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  4. Smith, F (1935). "The Development of Patella vulgata". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences. 225 (520): 95–125. doi: 10.1098/rstb.1935.0008 .
  5. Damen, Peter; Dictus, Wim J.A.G. (1994). "Cell Lineage of the Prototroch of Patella vulgata (Gastropoda, Mollusca)". Developmental Biology. 162 (2): 364–383. doi:10.1006/dbio.1994.1094. PMID   8150201.
  6. Werner, Gijsbert D. A.; Gemmell, Patrick; Grosser, Stefanie; Hamer, Rebecca; Shimeld, Sebastian M. (2013). "Analysis of a deep transcriptome from the mantle tissue of Patella vulgata Linnaeus (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Patellidae) reveals candidate biomineralising genes". Marine Biotechnology. 15 (2): 230–243. doi:10.1007/s10126-012-9481-0. PMID   22865210. S2CID   1836313.
  7. Asa H. Barber; Dun Lu & Nicola M. Pugno (2015). "Extreme strength observed in limpet teeth". Journal of the Royal Society Interface. Royal Society journal. 12 (105): 20141326. doi:10.1098/rsif.2014.1326. PMC   4387522 . PMID   25694539.
  8. Webb, Jonathan. "Limpet teeth set new strength record" BBC News , 18 February 2015. Archived February 18, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  9. "Sea Snail Teeth Top Spider Silk as Strongest Material on Earth". NBC News.
  10. "Limpet teeth 'strongest material ever'" via www.bbc.com.
  11. "Limpet teeth rewrite record books" via www.bbc.com.
  12. Enright, Damien (August 18, 2008). "Enjoying a tasty treat from the salty sea". Irish Examiner.
  13. "Slainte! Alive, Alive-Oh! | Irish America".
  14. Crohan, Tomás Ó (June 28, 1978). The Islandman. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-281233-9 via Google Books.