Lepidopleurus inquinatus

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Lepidopleurus inquinatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Polyplacophora
Order: Chitonida
Suborder: Lepidopleurina
Family: Leptochitonidae
Genus: Lepidopleurus
Species: L. inquinatus
Binomial name
Lepidopleurus inquinatus
(Reeve, 1847)
Synonyms

Chiton inquinatus Reeve, 1847
Lepidopleurus iredalei Ashby, 1921
Terenochiton inquinatus Iredale and Hull, 1929

Lepidopleurus inquinatus is a species of chiton in the family Leptochitonidae.

Contents

[edit] Distribution

This species is endemic to the North Island of New Zealand, most common from the Bay of Plenty northwards.

[edit] Habitat

This chiton lives under intertidal stones on sandy or silty bottoms.

[edit] Shell description

The shell is large for the genus, evenly arched, not carinated dorsally. The sculpture is of densely and delicately beaded riblets, radial on the end valve and lateral areas, longitudinal on the central area, and there fenestrated by even finer cross threads.

Coloration is yellowish to orange-brown, with a reddish-brown patch at the crest of each valve.

Length is up to 14 mm, and the width is up to 7 mm.

[edit] References