Patella ferruginea
species of mollusc
Patella ferruginea, commonly known as the ferruginous limpet (sometimes, as the ribbed Mediterranean 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.
Description
Patella ferruginea is a distinctive large limpet with a thick heavy shell. It can exceed 100 mm (4 in) in diameter, but usually barely exceeds 70 mm. The robust, cone-shaped shell has thirty to fifty broad ridges and a wavy margin. The ribs are irregular and sometimes nodular; the shell is often worn smooth or covered with epibiotic organisms such as algae and barnacles. The external surface is cream-coloured or rusty brown, while the inside is marbled white with a dark muscle scar. The muscular foot is yellowish-orange with dark grey sides, and the tentacles are black. Juveniles have flattened shells which are whitish with dark concentric bands and a small number of broad ribs, giving them star-shaped outlines.
Distribution and habitat
This limpet is restricted (endemic) to the Mediterranean Sea.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Patella ferruginea” as species of mollusc. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as species of mollusc. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3013638. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Patella ferruginea” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.