Limpets

Browse All Limpets Recipes:| Limpets Recipes by Preparation Time |Limpets Recipes by Cost |Limpets Recipes by Dish Type



About Limpets
Wikipedia Article About Limpets on Wikipedia

Limpets are marine mollusks in the family Acmaeidae with flattened, cone-shaped shells. They live throughout the intertidal zone, from the high zone (upper littoral) to the shallow subtidal on the rocky coasts of most oceans. Limpets can be commonly found attached to rocks, looking like little disks or bumps on the rock surface. They attach themselves to the substratum using pedal mucus and a muscular "foot", which enables them to remain attached through dangerous wave action and which also seals against the rock to protect from desiccation during low tide. Limpets forage by grazing on algae found on rock surfaces. They scrape films of algae from the rock with a radula, a ribbon-like tongue with rows of teeth. Limpets move by rippling the muscles of their foot in a wave-like motion.

Some limpets have a hole at the top, through which gaseous exchange can occur. Most limpets are less than 3 inches (8 cm) long, but a West Mexican Limpet grows to be 8 inches (20 cm).

Some species of limpets return to the same spot on the rock known as a "home scar" just before the tide recedes. In such species, the shape of their shell often grows to precisely match the contours of the rock surrounding the scar. This behaviour presumably allows them to form a better seal to the rock and may help protect from either predation or desiccation. It is still unclear how limpets find their way back to the same spot each time, but it is thought that they follow a mucus trail left as they move. Other species, notably Lottia gigantia seem to "garden" a patch of algae around their home scar. They will aggressively push other organisms out of this patch by ramming with their shell, thereby allowing their patch of algae to grow for their own grazing.

Limpets Nutrition

 * Limpets Nutrient Charts

Limpets Recipes
Add a Limpets Recipe to Cookbookwiki:

createpageform-Limpets


 * Limpets Recipes
 * Limpets Recipes by Preparation Time
 * Limpets Recipes by Cost
 * Limpets Recipes by Dish Type

Limpets Related Recipes

 * Category Limpets