Sypharochiton pelliserpentis

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Sypharochiton pelliserpentis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Polyplacophora
Order: Chitonida
Suborder: Chitonina
Superfamily: Chitonoidea
Family: Chitonidae
Genus: Sypharochiton
Species: S. pelliserpentis
Binomial name
Sypharochiton pelliserpentis
(Quoy and Gaimard, 1835)
Synonyms

Chiton pelliserpentis Quoy and Gaimard, 1835

Sypharochiton pelliserpentis is a species of chiton in the family Chitonidae.

Contents

[edit] Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand including the Chatham Islands. It is New Zealand's most common chiton.

[edit] Habitat

This chiton is found under stones, above the mid-tide level.

[edit] Description

The shell is coarsely sculptured with nodulose radial ribs over both end valves, as well as the lateral areas of the median valves. The central area is densely longitudinally grooved.

Coloration is greenish, heavily blotched and streaked in dark green, mostly with dark wedge-shaped markings down the crest of the valves.

Length is up to 42 mm, and width up to 26 mm.

[edit] References