(Linné, 1758)
Description (shell):
Flattened, ear-shaped spiral with a series of funnel-shaped holes, only the most recently formed (usually five to seven) perforate, surmounting a flattened peripheral band (H. tuperculata-detail). Blunt keel and shell sculpture enhanced by narrow spiral ridges, traversed by growth lines accentuated at intervals to form ridges, probably corresponding to winter growth checks. Outer shell often supporting epizoites. Operculum absent.
Size:
Up to 90 x 60 mm.
Colour:
Outer shell variously coloured, mottled. Inner surface of shell iridescent mother-of-pearl (H. tuberculata).
Animal:
Foot large, notched anteriorly, with numerous extensive epipodial tentacles. Mantle split below respiratory openings through which it extends to form short exhalant siphons. Broad head, from which a short snout protrudes (H. tuberculata-animal).
Habitat:
Rests with the margins of the shell pressed against rock in the manner of a limpet-shell. Rocky shores from ELWST to 13 m.
Distribution:
Ranges from Mediterranean to the Channel Islands.