Callochiton crocinus

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Callochiton crocinus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Polyplacophora
Order: Neoloricata
Suborder: Ischnochitonina
Family: Callochitonidae
Genus: Callochiton
Species: C. crocinus
Binomial name
Callochiton crocinus
(Reeve, 1847)
Synonyms

Chiton crocinus Reeve, 1847
Chiton versicolor A. Adams, 1852
Callochiton platessa Suter, 1913
Levicoplax platessa Iredale and Hull, 1925
Callochiton platessa Suter, 1913
Paricoplax crocina Iredale and Hull, 1929
Paricoplax perscrutanda Iredale and Hull, 1929

Callochiton crocinus is a species of chiton in the family Callochitonidae.

Contents

[edit] Distribution

This species is endemic to the North and South islands of New Zealand, and southern Australia from Western Australia to southern Queensland including Tasmania.

[edit] Habitat

This chiton lives under rocks at the low water mark, in clear water situations.

[edit] Description

The shell is of moderate size, smooth to the eye, but actually densely finely granulose. The lateral areas are only slightly raised, and there are no pits or longitudinal grooves on the central area. The head valve has 16 slits, the median valves three, and the tail valve 14. The girdle is thick, composed of a dense mass of elongate spicules, the tops of which impart a minutely scaly external surface.

Coloration is variable, greenish-buff to reddish-brown, often mottled or streaked in darker brown.

Length is up to 36 mm, and the width is up to 21 mm.

[edit] References