Species profile
Common Periwinkle
Littorina littorea
At a glance
Common Periwinkle (Littorina littorea) is a marine snails (periwinkle/cowrie) with specific harvest rules tracked in 1 of 66 jurisdictions covered by CatchRules.
Confirmed by 11,901 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with Maine, Nova Scotia, and Massachusetts the top jurisdictions by observation count.
Notable details
- Introduced to North America from Europe, first documented near Halifax, Nova Scotia around 1840.
- Grows to about 1 inch (2.5 cm) tall, making it the largest North American periwinkle.
- Edible and popular in British cuisine, typically boiled and picked from the shell.
- Survives out of water for several days by tightly sealing its trapdoor-like operculum.
- Can live up to 10 years in the wild.
Where Common Periwinkle are seen
Background
The common periwinkle or winkle (Littorina littorea) is a species of small edible whelk or sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc that has gills and an operculum, and is classified within the family Littorinidae, the periwinkles.
Background excerpt adapted from Wikipedia's Common Periwinkle article (CC BY-SA). Visit Wikipedia for the full entry.
Other marine snails (periwinkle/cowrie) on CatchRules
Photo credit: iNaturalist / Wikipedia. Identification reference only — verify regulations with the issuing wildlife agency before retaining a catch.