Biodiversity & Conservation

Slipper limpet - Crepidula fornicata - General information

Crepidula fornicata

Image Steve Trewhella - Chain of Crepidula fornicata. Image width ca 6 cm.
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Distribution map

Crepidula fornicata recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

Sightings Have you seen Crepidula fornicata?
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Crepidula fornicata is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Will Rayment Text page icon Refereed by: Dr Frédérique Viard

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy

Phylum Mollusca Snails, slugs, mussels, cockles, clams & squid
Class Gastropoda Snails, slugs & sea butterflies
Map icon Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland In Britain, it is present on the east coast south of Spurn Head, the length of the south coast and northwards along the west coast to Cardigan Bay. It has been introduced accidentally to several locations in Ireland but a population has never persisted.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Crepidula fornicata is typically found attached to shells and stones on soft substrata around the low water mark and the shallow sublittoral. It is often attached to the shells of mussels Mytilus edulis and oysters Ostrea edulis.
Text page icon Description The shell is oval, up to 5 cm in length, with a much reduced spire. The large aperture has a shelf, or septum, extending half its length. The shell is smooth with irregular growth lines and white, cream, yellow or pinkish in colour with streaks or blotches of red or brown. Slipper limpets are commonly found in curved chains of up to 12 animals. Large shells are found at the bottom of the chain, with the shells becoming progressively smaller towards the top.

This review can be cited as follows:

Will Rayment 2008. Crepidula fornicata. Slipper limpet. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 21/05/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=3086>