Scutellastra argenvillei
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Patellogastropoda
Superfamily:
Patelloidea
Family:
Patellidae
Genus:
Scutellastra
Species:
S. argenvillei
Binomial name
Scutellastra argenvillei
(Krauss, 1848)
Synonyms
  • Patella (Scutellastra) argenvillei Krauss, 1848
  • Patella argenvillei Krauss, 1848

Scutellastra argenvillei or Argenville's 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.[1]

It is endemic to the south and west coasts of Namibia and South Africa in southern Africa.[2]

Description

It is a large and relatively tall limpet, with an oval base, slightly narrower at one end, with a maximum size of about 90 mm. The outer surface has fine radiating ridges, and the apex is commonly eroded. Inner surface is generally white.[2]

Ecology

This limpet is abundant on moderately exposed shores in the low inter-tidal and shallow subtidal zone on the west coast of South Africa, but is being displaced by the invasive Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. The lower inter-tidal zone in this area is also referred to as the Cochlear-Argenvillei zone.[3] It feeds on kelp by trapping the edge of fronds under the edge of its shell while feeding.[2]

Scutellastra argenvillei, ventral view

References

  1. ↑ Scutellastra argenvillei (Krauss, 1848). Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 8 April 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 Branch, G.M.; Branch, M.L.; Griffiths, C.L.; Beckley, L.E. (2010). Two Oceans: a guide to the marine life of southern Africa (2nd ed.). Cape Town: Struik Nature. ISBN 978 1 77007 772 0.
  3. ↑ Branch, G.M.; Branch, M.L. (1985). The Living Shores of Southern Africa (3rd impression ed.). Cape Town: C. Struik. ISBN 0 86977 115 9.
  • Kilburn, R.N. & Rippey, E. (1982) Sea Shells of Southern Africa. Macmillan South Africa, Johannesburg, xi + 249 pp. page(s): 37
  • Koufopanou et al. (1999). A molecular phylogeny of the patellid limpets (Gastropoda: Patellidae) and its implications for the origins of their antitropical distribution Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 11(1):138-156
  • Branch, G.M. et al. (2002). Two Oceans. 5th impression. David Philip, Cate Town & Johannesburg
  • Nakano & Ozawa (2007). Worldwide phylogeography of limpets of the order Patellogastropoda: Molecular, morphological and palaeontological evidence. Journal of Molluscan Studies 73(1) 79–99.
  • Wurz, Sarah (2012). "The significance of MIS 5 shell middens on the Cape coast: A lithic perspective from Klasies River and Ysterfontein 1". Quaternary International. 270: 61–69. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2011.06.032. ISSN 1040-6182.
  • Occhipinti-Ambrogi, Anna; Galil, Bella S. (2004). "A uniform terminology on bioinvasions: a chimera or an operative tool?". Marine Pollution Bulletin. 49 (9–10): 688–694. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2004.08.011. ISSN 0025-326X.


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