Checkered Limpet Shell, Lottia strigatella
Checkered Limpet Shell, Lottia strigatella. Shell collected off the beach in the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, January 2020. Size: 3.0 cm (1.2 inches) x 2.3 cm (0.9 inches).
Phylogeny: The Checkered Limpet, Lottia strigatella (P.P. Carpenter, 1864), is a gastropod mollusk that is a member of the Lottidae Family of True Limpets. The genus Lottia is one of fifteen genera in this family, and there are sixty-four species in this genus. They are are known in Mexico as Caracol Lapa.
Description: Checkered Limpets have an oval profile and are moderately elevated, with a fairly smooth surface. The apex is often eroded. The exterior of the shell is marked with low radial ribs, and is irregularly, radially, striped in black and white. The stripes are often forked. The interior of the shell is glossy white to very light blue in color, with brown blotching toward the center and numerous black and white segments along the margins. Checkered Limpet Shells reach a maximum of 3.0 cm (1.2 inches in length and 2.3 cm (0.9 inches) in height.
Habitat and Distribution: Checkered Limpets are found attached to rocks in the intertidal zone. They are a subtropical Eastern Pacific species. In Mexican waters they range from the northern border to the greater Cabo San Lucas area, Baja California Sur. They are also found in the Gulf of California, south of Loreto, Baja California Sur.
Ecology and Behavior: Checkered Limpets are grazers. They consume diatoms and algae, which they scrape from the rock with their radula. In turn they are preyed upon by shore birds, crabs, fish and sea stars. They are gonochoric and reproduce sexually, through broadcast spawning, with external fertilization. They reproduce during winter months. Checkered Limpets are known to host the parasitic fungus Didymella conchae, which can cause pitting in the shell surface. From a conservation perspective they have not been formally evaluated however they are fairly common with a relatively wide distribution and should be consider to be of Least Concern.
Synonyms: Acmaea strigatella and Collisella strigatella.