Fissurella barbadensis (Barbados keyhole limpet shells) (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands) 1

Description:

Summary[edit] Description: English: Fissurella barbadensis (Gmelin, 1791) - Barbados keyhole limpet shells from the Virgin Islands. (exterior view) The gastropods (snails & slugs) are a group of molluscs that occupy marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments. Most gastropods have a calcareous external shell (the snails). Some lack a shell completely, or have reduced internal shells (the slugs & sea slugs & pteropods). Most members of the Gastropoda are marine. Most marine snails are herbivores (algae grazers) or predators/carnivores. Seen here are three beachworn keyhole limpet shells, Fissurella barbadensis. Unlike "normal" snails, limpets lack a conispirally-coiled shell and instead have a cap-shaped shell. They typically occupy intertidal zone hard substrates and use a radula to scrape algae from rock surfaces. Classification: Animalia, Mollusca, Gastropoda, Fissurellidae Locality: Brewers Bay, St. Thomas, western Virgin Islands More info. at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fissurella_barbadensis and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fissurellidae. Date: 29 October 2020, 13:34:43. Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/50632248561/. Author: James St. John.