Sea life

[emmagleb]

Does anything actually eat barnacles or limpets? By this I mean other things that live in the water, rather than humans. Thanks, Emma

[logman]

I guess before evolution gave them those tough shells they would have been pretty vulnerable, but some creachers heave learnt to break the shells ie California sea otter which actually uses a large pebble to bust ytem open and some birds have also been filmed dropping molluscs onto rocks to smash them open

[gen2]

Limpets do not hold on as tightly as we suppose for all the time. They only tighten their grip when they feel a vibration, so a bird (oyster catcher or gull) can creep up and pop it off with a surprise peck.

When the tide is in they are still not safe because there are other shellfish that prey on them. Whelks have a rasp-like tongue called a radula that they use to bore a neat hole through the shell. They then sucks out the limpet flesh. Many of the limpet shells you find washed up on the beach will have this neat hole in them showing how the original occupant died.