Members of the family Fissurellidae are commonly called keyhole limpets. Shells are limpet like with a hole in the shell or a slit or indentation in the margin for release of water that has been drawn in to pass across the gills. The excurrent water also carries with it wastes from the digestive system. Most of the taxonomy of this group has been done on empty shells, and since many species cover those shells with living animal tissue, identification based solely on living photos can be difficult. Many of our species are unknown or the IDs tentative, and in some cases we are separating species solely by animal color. There is no guarantee that those we have listed as Emarginula or Emarginella species are all different, or there may be several different species that we have inadvertently lumped together. Most species live under rocks. We welcome corrections or suggestions at uwkwaj@yahoo.com. (Click on a thumbnail for more images of that species.)
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