00:00Looking at a rock like this, I think you would be forgiven for thinking that it is barren and lifeless,
00:07but you look a little deeper and you can find some incredible creatures.
00:11This is a limpet.
00:14Right here and right now, he's not really doing a lot.
00:16In fact, you'd be forgiven for thinking that he was just stone.
00:19But as soon as the tide comes in, these guys get to work.
00:30Limpets are vital grazers. They're herbivores. They eat veg.
00:34They will track all over this entire surface, grinding up algae, bacteria, sponges,
00:41literally anything that will form on this rock.
00:44In fact, it's the grazing action of things like limpets that stop this whole shoreline
00:49from being covered in green, slimy algae in a matter of weeks.
00:54But after they finish motoring around and getting a good feed on,
00:57they'll feel that tide start to change and they know they need to get back home quick.
01:02And he would do that by following a trail of snot,
01:05a sticky scent trail that he would have left wherever he went grazing on the rocks.
01:11But they don't just hunker down on any bit of rock.
01:15They have a very specific place that they always go back to.
01:18It's called a home scarf.
01:21These shy shellfish can literally grind stone,
01:26moulding rock and shell to create the tightest of fits,
01:31over time wearing away a patch on the rock which fits their outline perfectly.
01:37Eventually, an obvious scar in the rock forms,
01:41giving them a watertight seal for when the tide recedes.
01:46Perfect fit.
01:47So when the tide completely goes out and they're exposed like these chaps here,
01:52they don't end up losing moisture through evaporation because they're sealed tight to the rock.
01:59As anyone who's tried will testify, once a limpet is latched on,
02:04it's almost impossible to remove.
02:07It's very clever.
02:15.
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