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).

The Checkered Limpet, Lottia strigatella (Carpenter, 1864), is a gastropod mollusk that is a member of the Lottidae Family of True Limpets. They are are known in Mexico as caracol lapa. The shell has an oval profile and are moderately elevated with a fairly smooth surface and typically an eroded apex. The exterior of the shell 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.

Checkered Limpets are found attached to rocks in the intertidal zone. They range from Southern California to the greater Cabo San Lucas area, Baja California Sur and are found in the Sea of Cortez south of Loreto, Baja California Sur.

Synonyms are  Acmaea strigatella and Collisella strigatella.