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Chiton tuberculatus

Chiton tuberculatus
Chiton tuberculatus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Polyplacophora
Order: Chitonida
Family: Chitonidae
Genus: Chiton
Species:
C. tuberculatus
Binomial name
Chiton tuberculatus

Chiton tuberculatus, the West Indian green chiton, is a species of chiton, a marine polyplacophoran mollusk in the family Chitonidae, the typical chitons.[1][2][3] It was first described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus[4] and can be found throughout the Caribbean Sea.[5][4]

Description

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Chiton tuberculatus, is one of the largest chitons occurring in the Caribbean can reach an average length of about 50–60 mm (2.0–2.4 in). The dorsal surface of the valves is mainly grayish to brownish green. The valves are ribbed, dull grayish green or greenish brown, with a spicule-covered mantle girdle alternating zones of whitish, green or black.[6][7][8][9][10][11][4]

Disarticulated valves or plates

Distribution and habitat

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This species can be found under rocks and in spray zones of rocky shores, in the intertidal, shallow subtidal zone, about 4 meters deep. It range spans in the Western Central Atlantic (USA, Colombia, Bermuda, Mexico, Venezuela and the West Indies).[6][4]

Feeding and behavior

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The West Indian green chiton is a nocturnal grazer which mainly feeds on algae growing on rocks at night. It also has a "homing" behavior, which means after short feeding excursions, it returns to its original resting place.[4] It may also live as long as 12 years.[4]

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  • Chiton tuberculatus. Museum specimen
    Chiton tuberculatus. Museum specimen
  • Dorsal view
    Dorsal view
  • Ventral view
    Ventral view
  • A live individual of Chiton tuberculatus
    A live individual of Chiton tuberculatus

References

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  1. ^ "Catalogue of Life - 2011 Annual Checklist :: Search all names". www.catalogueoflife.org. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
  2. ^ URMO: UNESCO-IOC Register of Marine Organisms. Land J. van der (ed)
  3. ^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Chiton tuberculatus Linnaeus, 1758". www.marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Harasewych, M. G.; Moretzsohn, Fabio (2010). The book of shells: a life-size guide to identifying and classifying six hundred seashells. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-226-31577-5.
  5. ^ "Chiton tuberculatus Linnaeus, 1758". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2025-02-20.
  6. ^ a b "Chiton tuberculatus, West Indian green chiton". www.sealifebase.org. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
  7. ^ Fulvo, Arianna; Nistri, Roberto (2006). 350 coquillages du monde entier. [Lonay (Suisse)] Paris: Delachaux et Niestlé. ISBN 978-2-603-01374-8.
  8. ^ Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentius Salvius: Holmiae. ii, 824 pp. Archived 2017-06-13 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Turgeon, Donna D.; Quinn, James F.; Council of Systematic Malacologists; American Malacological Union, eds. (1998). Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada. Mollusks. American Fisheries Society special publication (2nd ed.). Bethesda, Md: American Fisheries Society. ISBN 978-1-888569-01-8.
  10. ^ W. J. Crozier and L. B. Arey On the Ethology of Chiton Tuberculatus
  11. ^ W. J. Crozier Growth and Duration of Life of Chiton Tuberculatus
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