A gastropod Patella ulyssiponensis Gmelin, 1791 (Gastropoda: Patellidae) from the Caucasian Black Sea shelf: Biological invasion or recovery of the native population?
Selifonova, Zh.; Reneva, M.; Poltarukha, O.; Boran-Keshishyan, A. (2025). A gastropod Patella ulyssiponensis Gmelin, 1791 (Gastropoda: Patellidae) from the Caucasian Black Sea shelf: Biological invasion or recovery of the native population? Морской биологический журнал = Marine Biological Journal 10(1): 69-84. https://dx.doi.org/10.21072/mbj.2025.10.1.06
In: Морской биологический журнал = Marine Biological Journal. Zoological Institute, RAS: Sevastopol. ISSN 2499-9768; e-ISSN 2499-9776, more
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Distribution
Morphometry
Patella ulyssiponensis Gmelin, 1791 [WoRMS]
Marine/Coastal |
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| Authors | | Top |
- Selifonova, Zh.
- Reneva, M.
- Poltarukha, O.
- Boran-Keshishyan, A.
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| Abstract |
In spring 2023, an abundant population of adult gastropods Patella ulyssiponensis Gmelin, 1791 was recorded in the Sochi port area. P. ulyssiponensis, also known as a limpet, is an inhabitant of contour biotopes and a crawling edible gastropod. This species is listed in Red Data Books of the Black Sea, the Crimea, and Sevastopol and still does not occur on shelves of the Crimea, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey. It was not registered on the Caucasian shelf since the middle of the XX century. The paper provides data on distribution, morphological structure, and settlement density of P. ulyssiponensis sampled in the Sochi port area in June 2023. According to the severity of radial ribs and their association into bundles, the position of the crown, the morphometry of the shell itself, the color of the shell inner surface, and the integrity or serration of the peristome, the found species was assigned to P. ulyssiponensis. In the Black Sea, the limpet is known as Patella tarentina Salis Marschlins, 1793, P. caerulea var. tenuistriata Weinkauff, 1880, and P. pontica Milaschewitsch, 1914 (syn.). In earlier works on the Black Sea, it was combined with P. caerulea Linnaeus, 1758 endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. P. ulyssiponensis abundance reached 240–320 ind.·m−2 and was higher at the station on the outer side of the southern pier than in the beach area. The limpets we registered were somewhat smaller than those previously noted for the Black Sea. The maximum length of the shell for molluscs of the Sochi port area reached 43.0 mm; width, 17.3 mm; and height, 20 mm. However, these individuals had a higher shell than those of the Black Sea population and the population from the northern Aegean Sea; this is typical for inhabitants of the water’s edge. The ratios of the shell height to its length were (0.43 ± 0.05) and (0.45 ± 0.07) for the first and second study areas, respectively. P. ulyssiponensis reinvasion to the northeastern Caucasian shelf could be governed by anthropogenic transfer by ships and by natural dispersal. Along with other aspects revealed in recent years in the Black Sea ecosystem, this finding illustrates positive changes in gastropod fauna from the Caucasian shelf. |
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