#labyrinthula

A True Limpet found on the coastlines of SW Australia, with a single record near Adelaide that's a bit puzzling.

Lottia alveus used to be found in eelgrass beds from New York to Labrador, but went completely extinct in the 1930s after Eelgrass Wasting Disease, caused by a Slime Net organism in the genus Labyrinthula, wiped out every population of seagrass along that shoreline that wasn't protected by brackish salinity. Since the limpet couldn't tolerate lower salinity, it vanished with the majority of the eelgrass.