Which patella?

[Emma]

Hi again!

A couple of weeks ago there was a big storm in the Mediterranean and I went down to the beach the following day. Among the things I found were these two patella. Patellas are a hard species to classify at the best of times, but these two specimens have growths on top. I don't want to remove the growths, as I think they add character. My guess is they are Patella ulyssiponensis or Patella caerula, however they don't really look like P. caerula to me. They are definetely not P. rustica, the colouring inside is all wrong. So, any help would be great. And, if you know the name of the growths on top of the shell, please let me know.

Best wishes,

Emma.

P.s. The beach is Cambrils, in the Tarragona area of Spain.

[dave r]

I would say top-vulgaris and bottom-cerulea.

[Emma]

I don't think we have P. vulgata in this area; I've never found any in this area in 20 + years. I did, however, find vulgata in the Basque Country in the summer, but that's over the other side of Spain. Could they both be P. caerula? What do you think? Thanks for your help! 

[dave r]

They could I suppose. The problem is you need to see the sculpture of the top as well for a more positive I.D.  If you do not want to remove it then it makes matters more difficult.

[Emma]

Ok, thanks!