Limpet grazing patterns and a passing Sea Slater (Ligia oceanica) on limestone rock at Caswell Bay in Gower.
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Limpet grazing patterns and a passing Sea Slater (Ligia oceanica) on limestone rock at Caswell Bay in Gower.
Jessica's Nature Blog 
It’s so exciting to see these grazing patterns! They are so like the ones the slugs made on my friend’s metal tank—see https://lindagrashoff.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/untitled-118.jpg and look in the upper right corner. They’re another way to trace the relatedness of slugs and limpets.
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Wow. I would not have know that these were limpet grazing patterns.
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Thank you, Linda. Great shot of tracks on your friend’s tank. Yes, the terrestrial and freshwater slugs and snails, together with marine limpets and other gastropods including sea slugs (nudibranchs), are related organisms, most of which share the same eating mechanisms. They have rows of small renewable teeth on a ribbon-like radulae (sort of tongue) with which they scrape the algae off the surface. The creatures move their heads from side to side while they scrape the food and move forwards, and this action creates the patterns.
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The sea slater – a new creature for me. So primitive-looking, and the segmented body reminds me of chitons. Now I’ll look it up!
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It’s the equivalent of the Woodlouse but lives at the seaside.
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