{{Short description|Species of gastropod}} {{Speciesbox | image = Tectura palacea.jpg | image_caption = A live individual of ''Tectura palacea'' on a blade of ''[[Phyllospadix]]'' surfgrass. Anterior end of the limpet to the left | image2 = Tectura palacea 2.jpg | image2_caption = | genus = Tectura | species = palacea | authority = ([[Augustus Addison Gould|Gould]], 1853) }}

'''''Tectura palacea''''', [[common name]]s the '''surfgrass limpet''' or '''chaffy limpet''', also spelled '''chaffey limpet''', is a [[species]] of small [[sea snail]], a true [[limpet]], a [[marine (ocean)|marine]] [[gastropod]] [[mollusc]] in the family [[Lottiidae]].

The shell of this small limpet is about 6–10&nbsp;mm in length and 2–3&nbsp;mm in width. The shell dimensions are narrow to correspond with the limpet's habitat: the narrow blades of surfgrasses in the genus ''[[Phyllospadix]]'', found at low tide levels. This species occurs in the Eastern [[Pacific Ocean]], on the coast of [[North America]], from [[Vancouver Island]], [[British Columbia]] to northern [[Baja California]], [[Mexico]].<ref>McLean J. H. (1978) ''Marine Shells of Southern California''. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Museum, Science Series 24, Revised Edition: 1-104.</ref>

[[File:Tectura palacea 3.jpg|thumb|The habitat of ''Tectura palacea'' is the blades of surfgrasses in the genus ''[[Phyllospadix]]'']]

==Feeding habits== These small limpets graze on the film of microscopic algae that covers the leaf blades of the marine plant ''Phyllospadix''. As can be seen in the accompanying photos, the limpet scrapes off this algal film, leaving a clear trail on the surface of the blade behind it.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{commonscat|Tectura palacea}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110608014457/http://nlbif.eti.uva.nl/nmr/detail.php?taal=uk&volledige_naam=Tectura+palacea&type=s&start=0&display=25&sort=sa&start=0&display=25&nr=2 Basic info]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q7692866}}

[[Category:Lottiidae]] [[Category:Gastropods described in 1853]] [[Category:Taxa named by Augustus Addison Gould]]

{{Lottiidae-stub}}