THE SLIPPER LIMPET, CREPIDULA-FORNICATA (L), IN IRISH WATERS, WITH A REVIEW OF ITS OCCURRENCE IN THE NORTH-EASTERN ATLANTIC

There are seven localities where the slipper limpet, Crepidula fornica ta, has been recorded in Irish waters. Most introductions to Ireland w ere with transfers of oysters from America, Britain and mainland Europ e. These records are discussed in relation to the expansion of the sli pper limpet's European range. Populations may have become established in Kenmare and Clew Bays, but following the prolonged cold period in 1 963 no living populations have survived. In 1993, following an Europea n Community directive on free trade, the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea g igas, was imported from France and was found to carry C. fornicata.