Predator on some sponges of the genus Aplysina Nardo, in the infralittoral down to circa 50m deep.
Original taxon: Patella perversa.
The animal (and its shell) is as yellow as the sponges it feeds on. Above and below: 2-3m deep, on Aplysina aerophoba.
Punta Pizzo, Gallipoli, Lecce, Puglia, S. Italy. 17,5mm.
The shell « is no more than cartilaginous, but without any flexibility. It is extremely thin, transparent, and covered with a membranous periostracum, below which there is no appearance of riblets. Its edges are whole. […] Its apex is placed […] about one-third of its length, but in the opposite direction, that is to say, close to the animal’s tail or rear. This apex makes a kind of crooked hook back. » – M. Adanson: Histoire naturelle du Sénégal, Paris 1757, p.32.
A Yellow Umbrella at Carnon-Plage, Hérault, S. France.
Original picture provided by J. Renoult for iNaturalist.
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There is a large gill on the right side of the animal. The head bears two rhinophores with minute black eyes (not visible here) at their base, and the two buccal tentacles. – 1m deep, Brač island, Split-Dalmatia Comitat, S. Croatia.
Original pictures provided by D. Šindrbálová (CZ).
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