Conical shell up to 70mm in length (25mm in height). The outside is grey to yellow in colour. The inside is glossy greenish sometimes with purple rays and white towards the centre. The surface of the shell is sculptured with radial ridges running from the apex to the margin and the posterior outline of the shell smoothly rounded.
Key identification features
- Buff coloured foot
- Marginal tentacles not white
Similar species
- Patella depressa has a dark (black) foot
- Patella ulyssiponensis has a pale foot
Ecology and behaviour
Lives on exposed rocky shores where it feeds by grazing algal material from the rock surface using its radula. Breeds in autumn/winter, eggs and sperm being released into the water column where fertilisation occurs. Larvae later settle in crevices or pools until they are 1-2mm when they migrate to more exposed microhabitats.
Distribution and status
Very common
Extends from Mediterranean to northern Norway