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Few Pacific cultures prize the 'opihi the way Hawaiians do, even today it is highly valued as food. | ||||
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Yellow-Foot Limpet or Opihi 'Alinalina |  | ||||
Description • Often covered with seaweed this opihi may sometimes be difficult to spot. The foot is yellow as the name suggests and can grow to about 2 inches in diameter. The ridges extend beyond the shell which make the edges scalloped and sharp. The shells were used in old Hawaii as scrapers, especially for coconut meat. This particular species is protected by law. Habitat • Found at the low tide mark it needs constant splash and can't tolerate drying out like the Black-Foot. Diet •. The opihi is filter feeder taking in water from the splash zone to filter out particles of food. They also graze on algae that grows on the rocks.
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