#patella

AKA Patella (Scutellastra) kermadecensis, Patella (Scutellastra) pilsbryi and Patella kermadecensis.

An enormous limpet (possibly the world's largest) found only on the rocky shores of the volcanic Rangitāhua Archipelago (also known as the Kermadec Islands), 800-1000km NW of New Zealand. The islands are recognised by the World Wildlife Fund as a distinct ecoregion, the Kermadec Islands subtropical moist forests, and are home to 113 native species of vascular plants, of which 23 are endemic, 52 mosses, and 89 lichens and fungi. Unfortunately 152 human-introduced species of plants have also become established on the islands, and goats, cats, and rats were a disaster. At least they've now killed all the goats, and are working on doing the same with the rats and cats.

The limpets live in great profusion from the lowest intertidal to the upper subtidal, gorging themselves on algae with few competitors to worry about, apart from other limpets. That may be why the younger, smaller limpets are usually found riding around on the shells of the big ones. The smaller ones also tend to be male, and switch sexes as they grow, so sticking as close as possible to a mate may also be a factor. As one paper put it -

We found that the available rock space did not influence the size at which an individual transitioned from being a piggy to being rock-attached. Furthermore, larger rock-attached limpets were more likely to have piggies, they had more piggies, and the piggies were larger.

A fossil found in the Oligocene Isolated Hill Limestone of Mason River, Marlborough, indicates the limpets used to be more widespread, and the Kermadecs are their last stronghold.

3 weeks ago I injured almost my whole left side. My foot caught under a rug as I was rushing to leave work and it stayed put as my body jerked forward, then fell forward, landing hard on my arm. My ears were ringing and everything was white because I was in so much pain. I realized my elbow had dislocated. So had my kneecap. I screamed. Then again. Then my boss called an ambulance. Then the firemen help me into it as I made them chuckle with my bold and colorful cursing. The man in the ambulance asked if this had happened before, I told him how I’d wake up at night as a 6 year old with my shoulder out of place, his eyes went wide as he told me that sounded like “a nightmare”. At the ER my knee was reduced immediately. The doctors waited 45 minutes to reduce the elbow, which was honestly in more pain, but it was all fine with me after they gave me some painkillers. They sent me home with an arm splint and knee brace along with orders to take 3 ibuprofen every 6 hours until the pain is gone. The first week I could hardly leave my bed, couldn’t shower alone, and I could hardly sleep because my whole life had just changed so much in an instant, I’ve never felt more fragile than waiting for help on the floor of that gift shop like a broken doll. This week, I can walk some and raise my arm above my head. I can shower alone, cook a meal, sit in my garden. I am still taking it day by day, I still can’t bend my knee much, my arm has been in this splint for weeks, and my workers comp doctor seemed utterly confused why I had splints to begin with.

I’m trying to stay positive. I’m healing well given the severity of these injuries. But it feels like it’s been forever. And when I wake up day after day unable to bend my knee further than the day before, I feel like I’ll never get back to being able to squat in the forest to see my favorite fungi. I know it takes time to heal. I just wish this hadn’t happened to me.

UPDATE!!! 06-16-22