THE COMMON LIMPET 27 



ships. But it is not very common, and you must 

 not be disappointed if you do not succeed in 

 finding it. 



PLATE XI 

 THE COMMON LIMPET (I) 



This is a very common creature indeed, and you 

 can find it in hundreds and thousands on any 

 rocky part of the coast. Numbers of its empty 

 shells are to be found lying about on the beach, 

 and if you go down among the rocks when the 

 tide is out you will often notice that in some 

 places they are so covered with limpets that you 

 can scarcely put the tip of your finger in between 

 them. 



These animals cling to the rocks in the most 

 wonderful way. Indeed, if you take hold of a big 

 limpet between your fingers you will not be able to 

 move it in the least, even if you pull at it and push 

 at it as hard as you can. But if you take the 

 animal by surprise, and give it a sharp, sudden 

 blow sideways with a stone, or the end of a stout 

 stick, you can generally knock it off quite easily. 

 And you will very often find that a deep ring- 

 shaped mark has been worn away in the rock by 

 the sharp edges of its shell. 



However, limpets do not always remain clinging 



