Relevant Synonyms Patella rota Gmelin, 1791 Patella variegata Reeve, 1842 Patella karachiensis Winckworth, 1930 Patella radiata "Chemnitz" [name available from Born, 1778] Misidentification Cellana eucosmia Pilsbry, 1891 [Powell, 1973]  drawing: Tuvia Kurz

SHORT DESCRIPTION Shell rather thin, of regular ovate outline, very low conical with apex slightly anterior to mid-length. External sculpture of numerous, fine, flat, somewhat granulose radial riblets. color : externally pale brown or yellowish with 8-10 sectors of dark brown mixed with blotches of the background color; inside translucent with external color showing through, except on the callus which is variously tinged with white and brown or pale orange. common size : 25-35 mm long; up to 37 mm in the Indo-Pacific. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS This species resembles some regularly ovate forms of the native Patella caerulea Linnaeus, 1758, but has the inside layer more translucent and never distinctly bluish. The pale blotches interrupting the dark sectors are not seen on all individuals, but when expressed they are diagnostic of Cellana with respect to all native Mediterranean patellids. Knobs on the radial sculpture do not occur on native Patella, with the exception of P. rustica Linnaeus, 1758 which is much taller, sturdier and cannot be confused. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Unknown. habitat : on rocks near sea level.

1st Mediterranean record Israel, 1967 [1961]. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide: Red Sea and Indian Ocean: Southern Arabia, Arabian Gulf, India; limits of distribution difficult to assess due to confusion with other species or subspecies of the Cellana radiata complex (Christiaens, 1986). Suez Canal (Tillier and Bavay, 1905, as Cellana radiata); common in Great Bitter Lake (Moazzo, 1939). Mediterranean: recorded first in 1961 from Akko, Israel (Christiaens, 1967); successively from Egypt (Giannuzzi-Savelli et al., 1994); Greece, Saronikos Gulf (Fountoulakis and Sabelli, 1999). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Remained rare during a long time but Fishelson (2000) has reported that it was common by 1999 dominating some rocky intertidal outcrops along Israeli shores. Near Ashdod Cellana has replaced completely Patella caerulea in the upper littoral (Mienis, 2002a). speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via the Suez Canal. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None.

KEY REFERENCES Christiaens J., 1967. Présence de la patelle Cellana rota Gmelin en Méditerranée orientale. Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 38(6): 903. Fishelson L., 2000. Marine animal assemblages along the littoral of the Israeli Mediterranean seashore: the Red-Mediterranean seas communities of species. Italian Journal of Zoology, 67(4): 393-415. Fontoulakis E. and Sabelli B., 1999. Observations on the malacofauna of the littoral of Saronikos Gulf, pp. 465-472, in: Contributions to the Zoogeography and Ecology of the Eastern Mediterranean Region, vol. 1: 465-472.   Giannuzzi-Savelli R., Pusateri F., Palmeri A. and Ebreo C., 1994. Atlante delle conchiglie marine del Mediterraneo. Vol. 1 : Archaeogastropoda, 125 p., La Conchiglia, Roma. Mienis H.K., 2002a. Is the Lessepsian migrant Cellana rota replacing native limpets along the Mediterranean coast of Israel ? The Conchologists' Newsletter, 163: 275-276. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

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