Patella caerulea Linnaeus, 1758
Mediterranean to Algarve. Micrograzer in the rocky upper infralittoral, preferably in quiet areas.
 
Shell flat and thin, of variable shape, with an apex slightly anteriorly placed; sculpture made up of numerous thin radial costae; external colour greyish with some darker radiating bands; inside with the same colours and pattern than outside, often covered with a blue nacreous layer more or less transparent. The species is named after these dark bluish internal iridescences. The muscular print extends up to the half of the radius; it is uniformly coloured, and bordered by an often brownish margin; the radial pattern appears outward of this margin. The huge synonymy reflects the impressive variability of the species: alba, fragilis, grisea, nacrina, scutellina (little cup), silicina, subplanata

Fresh dead specimens used as bait, from rocks around the Citadel, Calvi, NE. Corsica. 34-45mm.
Splash zone, western shore of Gümbet Bay, Bodrum, Muğla Province, S. Aegean, SW. Turkey. Original picture provided by T. Carlisle for iNaturalist (CC BY-NC-SA).
The wonderful variant “grisea” sensu Blainville.
On rocks, Agios Nikolaos, Lasithi, N. Crete.
The animal, from shallow rock, Port Leucate, Aude, Occitania, S. France. Original picture provided by A. Bertrand (FR).
(CC BY-NC-SA)
Same spot. Notice the size of the marginal papillae.
Original picture provided by A. Bertrand (FR).
(CC BY-NC-SA)
Same spot. Aquarium glass cleaner in action.
Original picture provided by A. Bertrand (FR).
(CC BY-NC-SA)
The radula.
Original picture provided by A. Bertrand (FR).
(CC BY-NC-SA)
Calanque de Saména, Marseille, Provence, S. France. Original picture provided by S. Lebris for iNaturalist (CC BY-NC).
Splash zone, Ključice creek, southern shore of Tiha Bay, Cavtat, Dubrovnik-Neretva Comitat, S. Croatia.
The hexagonal outline and the flat spire are the only constant features. Cagliari, S. sardinia. 59,3-67,3mm. Original pictures provided by A. Nappo (IT) – (CC BY-NC-SA).
Source: gruppomalacologicoscalaria.org.

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