The Bonin Islands are positioned some 1,000 kilometers directly south of Tokyo.
The isolated environments of these islands have produced many endemic species,
and this archipelago is sometimes called the Galapagos of the Orient.
The "limpet” is a large shellfish that inhabits a limited region of the Bonin Islands.
Cellana nigrolineata and Patina pellucida are also referred to as limpets.
These species, which are representative of shellfish with radial patterns like that of an umbrella’s ribs, are endemic to the Bonin Islands.
While limpets mainly feed on algae which they scrape off rock faces,
they occasionally brave the tides in search of food.
And yet no matter how far they venture to feed,
limpets have the mysterious habit of always making their way back to the same place.
Limpets endemic to the Bonin islands are not alone.
Other limpet species distributed around the world display the same behavior.
It is said that by repeatedly scraping the rock face with their sharp “radula” the rock becomes smooth,
allowing them to strongly attach themselves.
However, the rocks that Bonin Island limpets inhabit are made of rough,
solidified volcanic lava that is not exactly flat and smooth.
The shell of a Bonin Island limpet is one of the biggest in the limpet family growing to almost 10cm in length.
According to some theories, this is why they live in rock crevices while their shell is still small,
changing habitats as they grow.
Whatever the case may be, why they always return to the same place remains a mystery.
Limpets can’t visually search for their original location as they don’t have what would generally be referred to as eyes.
And it's unlikely that they excrete a strong-smelling substance to follow home as their rocky habitat is subject to violent waves.
The approximate direction could be ascertained by sensing its feeding time with its biological clock and using the sun’s position to determine the location.
But it is doubtful that they could return to exactly the same place on the same rock using this method.
Furthermore, we know that limpets don’t return using the same route they took to go feeding, but rather take a loop shaped detour on their way back.
How is it that limpets can return to their original location?
There is still a lack of comprehensive research regarding the limpet family’s homing behavior, with some well-documented species,
and species with almost no recorded data at all.
This is especially true of the Bonin Island limpet,
a representative shellfish of this species whose ecology still eludes our full understanding.
With what sensors has such a rare species analyzed its unique environment for countless generations?
A number of mysteries still remain.
Humans do not have such refined sensors with which to measure the natural world.
However, humankind posses the power of analysis, one that goes beyond our natural limitations.
The protection of this diverse and beautiful earth through the analysis of nature is a mission that has been entrusted to humankind.