Head to head
Common Limpet vs Antarctic Limpet
Common Limpet
VS Antarctic Limpet
The common limpet and Antarctic limpet are two cone-shelled sea snails that graze algae from rock and clamp down tight, living at opposite ends of the Atlantic world.
| Common Limpet | Antarctic Limpet | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Patella vulgata | Nacella concinna |
| Diet | The thin film of algae on wet rock, scraped up with a rasping tongue | Algae and diatoms scraped from rock surfaces using a radula |
| Shell | A low, cone-shaped shell, usually around 5 or 6 cm across, with faint ridges from the top to the edge | A thick, conical shell that protects it from physical damage and predation |
| Grip | Clamps to rock with a muscular foot and suction, and returns to a home scar after grazing | A strong, muscular foot that clamps tightly onto rock, resisting waves, ice movement, and predators |
| Main hazard | The tide, grazing at high tide and clamping down as the water recedes | Drifting icebergs and sea ice, which scour entire patches of shoreline life, so it often moves to deeper, sheltered water in winter |
| Unusual features | Has teeth made of one of the strongest natural materials, and is typically male when young and female when older | The dominant grazing animal across much of the Antarctic shallows, controlling algal growth on rocky surfaces |
| Range | Rocky shores of the northeast Atlantic, from Norway and Iceland south to Portugal | The intertidal and shallow subtidal zones around the Antarctic Peninsula and nearby islands |
| Conservation status | Not Evaluated globally, though widespread and abundant | Least Concern |
Common Limpet vs Antarctic Limpet: common questions
Which limpet changes sex?
The common limpet, which is typically male when young and changes to female as it grows older and larger.
How does the Antarctic limpet survive ice?
It clamps tightly onto rock and often moves into deeper, more sheltered water in the harshest winter months.
What is a limpet's home scar?
The spot on the rock where a common limpet returns after grazing, where its shell edge has worn a shape that fits perfectly.