Weymouth is famous for its fantastic clean sandy beach. However, patches of fine shingle with gravel-sized pebbles and stones do occur here and there. It was on shingle like this that I found masses of empty Slipper Limpet shells – Crepidula fornicata (Linnaeus) – last weekend.
This type of gastropod mollusc shell seems to be the single species most likely to be found on Weymouth beach at any time of year. They get the name from their strange shape which looks a bit like a shoe or slipper. They breed very successfully in our coastal waters although they are an introduced species to the British Isles. Their presence can affect populations of our native filter-feeding mollusc species like mussels and oysters. When Slipper Limpets settle in vast numbers on other living shellfish, the huge amount of waste matter they generate can coat and suffocate the other animals beneath them, and foul hard substrates so that larvae cannot settle there.
I have talked about Slipper Limpets in previous postings – so click here if you want to see more pictures and information about Slipper Limpets on Jessica’s Nature Blog.
COPYRIGHT JESSICA WINDER 2012
All Rights Reserved
Jessica's Nature Blog 
Last week I was thrilled to find a single slipper limpet on the beach. Just one. Sigh…
LikeLike
It is a shame that fewer shells seem to wash up near you but I wonder what that means. Are there no molluscs living off your shore or are all the shells washed away to other beaches? By the way, slipper limpets were accidentally introduced to the UK on imported oysters. They are considered to be great pests here. Would you like them back?
LikeLike