General Info

General Information

5 species of opihi inhabit Hawaii's intertidal and shallow subtidal shores. 4 of the species are patellid limpets, which have gills, while Siphonaria normalis, a siphonariid , has lungs and gills. In the descriptions below, the juvenile (if available) is the bottom most picture.

	Scientific Name	Hawaiian Name	Common Name(s)	Distinguishing Characteristics	Habitat	Behaviors	Other Comments
	Cellana exarata	opihi makaiauli	black foot, green foot	Green mantle with tentacles usually <1cm long. Foot color may be yellow, green, or grey. Shell ridges are smooth & numerous, straight shell slope. Black shell color.	Upper Littoral: upper nalu zone to splash zone Mid-High wave exposure Basalt & tuff shores Desiccation periods frequently encountered	often seen ventilating (raising its shell) during periods of desiccation, strong flight response to mucus from the foot thaiid gastropods, tentacles are deployed after extended flight from a predator	No visible home scar. It is eaten but not preferred. Endemic
Juvenile N/A	Cellana melanostoma			Green mantle with tentacles usually <1cm long. Foot color may be yellow, green, or grey. Thick, steeply sloped (tall) shell with a creamy brown color.	Molokai-North West Hawaiian Islands? Probably occurs on all Hawaiian islands. Upper Littoral: upper nalu zone to splash zone Mid-High wave exposure Basalt & tuff shores Desiccation periods frequently encountered		I have some doubt that this is a different species than Cellana exarata. The only distinguishing characteristics are a steeper sloped and lighter colored shell. Such characteristics are known to be highly variable in other limpets. Furthermore, genetic sequencing of the mitochondrial 16s gene reveals no differences between these two species (Reeb 1995). Endemic
	Cellana sandwicensis	opihi alinalina	yellow foot	White mantle with a thin black perimenter and blueish, well spaced tentacles as long or longer than shell diameter. Yellow to orange foot. Coarse, less numerous ridges and straght shell slope	Mid littoral zone: intertidal zone to nalu zone High wave exposure Basalt & tuff shores Desiccation periods sporadically encountered	sometimes found ventillating, flight response to mucus from the foot thaiid gastropods, its long tentacles are deployed after a short flight from a predator, can be severely agitated by Colobocentrotus atratus	This is the most numerous species of edible opihi, and preferred to the black foot. I've never seen a home scar, but they've been reported by others.. Endemic
Juvenile N/A	Cellana talcosa	opihi ko'ele	koele	White mantle with white tentacles, a yellow perimeter, and short black radial marks within the perimeter. Yellow foot. Adult has thick shell, coarse shell ridges, domed shell slope. Juveniles have a thin, flat shell. Usually adults and juveniles are wider than Cellana sandwicensis.	Low intertidal - Shallow subtidal. High wave exposure Basalt & tuff shores, as well as boulder beaches Desiccation periods rarely encountered	Displays flight response from Thais intermedia and is likely to respond strongly to other thaiid gastropods, especially Purpura aperta. A ventilation response is unlikely.	I've got my eye on this one. More info coming soon since I've found it in the littoral zone of Oahu. Endemic
Juvenile N/A	Siphonaria normalis	opihi awa	false opihi	Dark foot. Shallow ridges can be wider than gaps. Ridging can be quite irregular. Circumference is often jagged. Bad taste	Upper Littoral: upper intertidal zone to splash zone (usually not found where there is a nalu zone) Low-Mid wave exposure Basalt & tuff shores Desiccation periods frequently encountered	these guys don't respond to anything!	can breath in air or water Indo-Pacific