limpet, marine gastropod gastropod, member of the class Gastropoda, the largest and most successful class of mollusks (phylum Mollusca), containing over 35,000 living species and 15,000 fossil forms.
..... Click the link for more information. mollusk with a simple, flattened, conical shell, found in cooler waters of the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. Certain species creep over rocks, feeding on algae during high tides, but when the tide recedes they return instinctively to the same spot occupied previously, to await the return of high water. The muscular foot clings so powerfully that limpets are found in wave-swept areas where few other forms of life can survive. The keyhole limpet is named for its central opening, through which respiratory currents pass. Limpets range up to 4 in. (10 cm) in length, but most are smaller; there are several freshwater species. Limpets are classified in the phylum Mollusca Mollusca , taxonomic name for the one of the largest phyla of invertebrate animals (Arthropoda is the largest) comprising more than 50,000 living mollusk species and about 35,000 fossil species dating back to the Cambrian period.
..... Click the link for more information. , class Gastropoda, order Archeogastropoda.
Any of various species of snails that have a flattened shell. Most marine species (subclass Prosobranchia) cling to rocks near shore. A common U.S. species is the Atlantic plate limpet (Acmaea testudinalis) of cold waters. Keyhole limpets have a slit or hole at the apex of the shell. Some limpets (subclass Pulmonata) live in brackish water and freshwater. See also mollusk.
limpet
limpet [′lim·pət]
..... Click the link for more information. mollusk with a simple, flattened, conical shell, found in cooler waters of the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. Certain species creep over rocks, feeding on algae during high tides, but when the tide recedes they return instinctively to the same spot occupied previously, to await the return of high water. The muscular foot clings so powerfully that limpets are found in wave-swept areas where few other forms of life can survive. The keyhole limpet is named for its central opening, through which respiratory currents pass. Limpets range up to 4 in. (10 cm) in length, but most are smaller; there are several freshwater species. Limpets are classified in the phylum Mollusca Mollusca , taxonomic name for the one of the largest phyla of invertebrate animals (Arthropoda is the largest) comprising more than 50,000 living mollusk species and about 35,000 fossil species dating back to the Cambrian period.
..... Click the link for more information. , class Gastropoda, order Archeogastropoda.
limpet
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European limpets (Patella vulgata) with acorn barnacles (Balanus balanoides)
(credit: Neville Fox-Davies—Bruce Coleman Inc./EB Inc.)
limpet
1. any of numerous marine gastropods, such as Patella vulgata (common limpet) and Fissurella (or Diodora) apertura (keyhole limpet), that have a conical shell and are found clinging to rocks
2. any of various similar freshwater gastropods, such as Ancylus fluviatilis (river limpet)
3. a small open caisson shaped to fit against a dock wall, used mainly in repair work
limpet [′lim·pət]
(invertebrate zoology)
Any of several species of marine gastropod mollusks composing the families Patellidae and Acmaeidae which have a conical and tentlike shell with ridges extending from the apex to the border.
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