02 Patella ulyssiponensis. Length 18.7 mm. North Yorkshire. September 2014.

02 Patella ulyssiponensis. Length 18.7 mm. North Yorkshire. September 2014.

Lowest profile (H/L 18%) in sample of eighteen.
It is often asserted that interior shell-layers conceal the outer shell so that, internally, “marginal rays are never conspicuous” (Fretter and Graham, 1994), but this does not apply to many shells below 40 mm length, such as this one from a shore in North Yorkshire where the majority have thin inner layers revealing exterior colour rays.