Scutellastra longicosta
species of mollusc
Scutellastra longicosta, the long-spined limpet or the duck's foot limpet, is a species of true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Patellidae, one of the families of true limpets. It is native to the coasts of South Africa where it is found on the foreshore. It cultivates a species of crustose brown algae in a "garden".
Description
Scutellastra longicosta has about eleven long, spiked ribs giving it a star-shaped outline. It grows to a diameter of about 70 mm (2.8 in). The inner surface is glossy white or bluish-white and often has a narrow black rim.
Distribution and habitat
This species can be found on the eastern and southern coasts of South Africa. Its range extends from Richards Bay round Cape Province to the Cape of Good Hope. It is found in the mid-to-lower intertidal zone on rocky surfaces.
Behaviour
Scutellastra longicosta is a territorial limpet occupying a permanent position and cultivating the brown alga Ralfsia verrucosa in a "garden" which it defends from other herbivores.
“Scutellastra longicosta” enters the record as species of mollusc. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Scutellastra, longicosta and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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“Scutellastra longicosta” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Scutellastra, longicosta and species provides the most credible route into that argument.
Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3025250. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Scutellastra longicosta” 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.