Description ³

Uncommon medium sized chiton, 20 to 36mm long, 12.5 to 21mm wide. The skirt/girdle is made of a thick stubble of short thick bristles that look like minute scales. Plates vary from buff with green tinge to reddy-brown, sometimes with dark brown marks. The surface is covered in a fine beaded pattern with well developed eyes.

Distribution ³

Found under boulders and stones in the low intertidal zone. North Island, South Island.

Synonyms ³

Callochiton platessa var. fossa (Ashby, 1922)
Chiton crocinus (Reeve, 1847) (original combination)
Chiton versicolor (A. Adams, 1852)

http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=385877

References ³

New Zealand Mollusca, Marine Land and Freshwater Shells, A W B Powell, 1979

Sources and Credits

1. Tony Wills, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), uploaded by Tony Wills
2. (c) Femorale, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.femorale.com/shellphotos/detail.asp?species=Callochiton%20crocinus%20(Reeve,%201847)
3. (c) Tony Wills, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNaturalist NZ taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Atlas of Living Australia
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• SeaLifeBase
• World Register of Marine Species

iNaturalist NZ Map