Species profile
Owl Limpet
Lottia gigantea
At a glance
Owl Limpet (Lottia gigantea) is a limpet regulated in 2 of 65 jurisdictions tracked by CatchRules across the U.S. and Canada.
Bag limits are uniform at 75 per angler across the 2 regulating jurisdictions.
Confirmed by 5,063 research-grade iNaturalist observations across the species' range.
Notable details
- One of the largest limpets in North America, reaching up to 3 inches (8 cm) long.
- Territorial — each individual defends and farms its own algal patch on the rock surface.
- Protandrous hermaphrodite: starts life as male, then transitions to female as it grows larger.
- Returns to the exact same spot on the rock after each foraging trip — its permanent home scar.
- Can live up to 15 years — remarkably long for a small intertidal invertebrate.
Where Owl Limpet are seen
Jurisdictions with rules for Owl Limpet
Background
Lottia gigantea, common name the owl limpet, giant owl limpet or solitary giant owl limpet, is a species of sea snail, a true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Lottiidae. Its genome has been sequenced at the Joint Genome Institute.
Background excerpt adapted from Wikipedia's Owl Limpet article (CC BY-SA). Visit Wikipedia for the full entry.
Other limpets on CatchRules
Photo credit: iNaturalist / Wikipedia. Identification reference only — verify regulations with the issuing wildlife agency before retaining a catch.