Conical shell up to 50mm in length (20mm in height). Outside of the shell is white or grey. The inside is also white (tinged blue) with a yellow/orange head scar. The shell surface is sculptured with radial ridges running from the apex to the margin. The posterior of shell tends to have an irregular outline.
Key identification features
- Foot pale (apricot coloured)
- Inside of shell white with yellow-orange headscar
Similar species
- Patella depressa has a dark (black) foot
- Patella vulgata has a buff coloured foot
Ecology and behaviour
Lives on exposed rocky shores where it feeds by grazing material from the rock surface using its radula. Breeds almost throughout year but mainly in summer. Eggs are fertilised in the water column and larvae later settles in low shore pools.
Distribution and status
Common
Found throughout the British Isles and south to the Mediterranean.