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Crepidula fornicata - Slipper limpet

Current distribution Crepidula fornicata (Linnaeus, 1758) (8500 OBIS-datapoints, 31360 GBIF-datapoints)
The slipper limpet Crepidula fornicata originates along the east coast of North America. The species got transported to Europe together with American oysters Crassostrea virginica. The first Belgian specimen was found on the 28th of September 1911 attached to an oyster in Ostend. Since the 1930s, it has been a common species along our coast. It has few to no predators and can thrive on various types of hard substrate and shell banks. Further expansion into more northern regions is probably hindered by the low temperature during winter, which slows down or prevents the development of the sea snail.