“…A number of studies have been conducted in order to investigate the reproductive cycles of Patella congeners, e.g. Patella vulgata (Orton et al , 1956; Thompson, 1980; Bowman & Lewis, 1986; Delany et al , 2002; McCarthy et al , 2008; Ribeiro et al , 2009), Patella depressa (Orton & Southward, 1961; Bowman & Lewis, 1986; Brazão et al , 2003; Moore et al , 2007; Ribeiro et al , 2009), Patella ulyssiponensis (Evans, 1953; Thompson, 1979; Bowman & Lewis, 1986; Guerra & Gaudêncio, 1986; McCarthy et al , 2008; Ribeiro et al , 2009), Patella caerulea (Frenkiel, 1975; Belkhodja et al , 2011) and Patella ferruginea (Espinosa et al , 2006; Guallart et al , 2013). The reproductive cycle of P. rustica has been previously described on the Algerian coast of the Mediterranean Sea (Frenkiel, 1975), and on the Basque (Othaitz, 1994) and Portuguese coasts of the north-east Atlantic (Ribeiro et al , 2009), based only on macroscopic examination of gonads and the staging scheme developed by Orton et al (1956).…”