Common Periwinkle
Littorina littorea · Mollusc
A small sea snail, about 2.5 cm, grazing algae, green seaweeds above all, on rocks and in tide pools of the middle and upper shore, and on the mud of estuaries, on the Northeast Atlantic coasts down to 55 m; it reached North America in the 19th century, possibly in ship ballast. In Ireland and Scotland it is boiled in seawater and sold in paper bags by the beach, with a pin to pick out the flesh. Scotland lands over 2,000 tonnes a year, mostly for export, and it is probably the richest everyday food in magnesium.
- Danger
- Harmless
- How it is met
- In colonies, day and night
- Size
- Tiny
- In winter
- Active in winter
Where it lives
Rocky Shore, Estuary, Coastal Shelf
Gives
Sources
- Common periwinkle. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 2026.
- Bigorneau commun. Wikipédia, l'encyclopédie libre, 2026.
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