Indian Ocean, from East Africa to Indonesia; Red Sea and Persian Gulf; eastern Mediterranean (lessepsian; levantine coast, southern Turkey, west to Tunisia). Micrograzer in the mediolittoral, sticking to various hard substrates. Original taxon: Patella rota. Synonyms: variegata sensu Reeve, aster, chathamensis, karachiensis, pharaonis…
On rocks at low tide, Shavei Zion beach, south of Nahariya, NW. Israel. 19-20mm.
Sculpture made up of minute concentric folds crossed by subobsolete radial ribs. Microsculpture made of extremely thin radial and concentric grooves.
« P. testa subrotunda intus subargentea exterius strigis rufescentibus, limbo flavescente. » – J. F. Gmelin: Caroli a Linnaei Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae ed. 13, tome 1(6), Leipzig 1791, p.3720.
Above: Johann Friedrich Gmelin at the time of the thirteenth edition. Wellcome Library, London – (CC BY).