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Acmaea mitra (Whitecap limpet)
Copyright © 2006
Mary Jo Adams
Unlike some other intertidal limpets, Acmaea mitra has a distinctive appearance, making it easy to identify. Viewed from above, the outline of this limpet is almost round and in profile, it has a high conical apex set near the center of the shell. Maximum diameter is 1-3/4 inches. The whitecap limpet is found very low in the intertidal zone in areas with moderate to heavy wave action and it ranges to a subtidal depth of 100 feet. It feeds on red encrusting coralline algae and is often overgrown with it, giving its normally white surface a coating of pink. Another common name for this species is “dunce-cap limpet”.
This
page was created by Mary Jo Adams on 5/24/06.
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