Diodora graeca
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Length = 21mm. Collected from Castle Rocks, Salcombe, Devon on 18/03/1996.
Diodora graeca
<em>Diodora graeca</em> (Linnaeus, 1758)
Diodora graeca
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Length = 21mm. Collected from Castle Rocks, Salcombe, Devon on 18/03/1996.
Diodora graeca
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Length = 21mm. Collected from Castle Rocks, Salcombe, Devon on 18/03/1996.
Diodora graeca
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Length = 21mm. Collected from Castle Rocks, Salcombe, Devon on 18/03/1996.
Diodora graeca
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Length = 21mm. Collected from Castle Rocks, Salcombe, Devon on 18/03/1996.
Diodora graeca
Vernacular names
Common keyhole limpet
Distribution and status
Not uncommon.
Occurs from the British Isles south to the Mediterranean but appears to be absent from the North Sea.
The map provided here shows the distribution of the species based on Conchological Society data.
Ecology and behaviour
Lives attached to stones or rock where it feeds on sponges. Breed in winter and spring. Eggs are attached to the rock surface and young hatch as juveniles - there is no free swimming larval stage.
Similar species
- Puncturella noachina has a slit slightly in front of the apex
Key identification features
- Keyhole shaped opening in the apex of the shell
Taxon version key
[NBNSYS0000174957]
Sort order
600
Taxonomic group
Marine snail
Conical shell up to 25mm in length (10mm in height). The shell is white or yellow often with brown radiating rays. The surface is sculptured with 20-30 coarse radiating ridges interspersed with finer ones.