Chiton olivaceus

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Chiton olivaceus
Chitonidae - Chiton olivaceus.JPG
Dorsal view of Chiton olivaceus from Sicily. Museum specimen
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Polyplacophora
Order: Chitonida
Family: Chitonidae
Genus: Chiton
Species:
C. olivaceus
Binomial name
Chiton olivaceus
Spengler, 1797
Synonyms
  • Chiton (Rhyssoplax) olivaceus Spengler, 1797
  • Chiton estuarii Brusina, 1870
  • Chiton polii Deshayes, 1835
  • Chiton rubellus Nardo, 1847
  • Chiton siculus Gray J.E., 1828
  • Chiton squammulosus Dollfus, 1883
  • Chiton striatus Brusina, 1870
  • Lepidopleurus sulcatus Risso, 1826

Chiton olivaceus, the green chiton, is a species of chiton, a marine polyplacophoran mollusk in the family Chitonidae, the typical chitons. [1] [2]

Contents

Description

Chiton olivaceus can reach a length of 32–40 millimetres (1.3–1.6 in) and a width of about 16 millimetres (0.63 in). These large chitons have carinate plates with strong ribs. The shell is oblong and oval. In the front and rear plates ribs have a radial pattern. The intermediate valves show a sharp beak and rounded sutural plates. Colors are very variable, ranging from olive-gray (hence the common name) to yellow-brown, sometimes black, orange, red or yellow. The girdle surrounding all of the valves is quite large and covered by bristles and scales. [3] [4] [5]

The teeth of these grazers of algae [6] are composed of magnetite,[ citation needed ] the hardest material usable by a living being.

Distribution

This species is common in the Mediterranean sea around Italy and Greece, but can also to be found in the nearby Atlantic Ocean. [7]

Habitat

Chiton olivaceus occur on a solid substrate, particularly stones and rocks, in the zones of sweeping of the waves, at a low depth. [3]

Related Research Articles

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A seashell or sea shell, also known simply as a shell, is a hard, protective outer layer usually created by an animal or organism that lives in the sea. Most seashells are made by mollusks, such as snails, clams, and oysters to protect their soft insides. Empty seashells are often found washed up on beaches by beachcombers. The shells are empty because the animal has died and the soft parts have decomposed or been eaten by another organism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bivalvia</span> Class of molluscs

Bivalvia or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of aquatic molluscs that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed by a calcified exoskeleton consisting of a hinged pair of half-shells known as valves. As a group, bivalves have no head and lack some typical molluscan organs such as the radula and the odontophore. Their gills have evolved into ctenidia, specialised organs for feeding and breathing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chiton</span> Class of marine molluscs

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gumboot chiton</span> Species of mollusc

The gumboot chiton, also known as the giant western fiery chiton or giant Pacific chiton, is the largest of the chitons, growing to 36 cm (14 in) and capable of reaching a weight of more than 2 kg (4.4 lb). It is found along the shores of the northern Pacific Ocean from Central California to Alaska, across the Aleutian Islands to the Kamchatka Peninsula and south to Japan. It inhabits the lower intertidal and subtidal zones of rocky coastlines. The gumboot chiton's appearance has led some tidepoolers to refer to it, fondly, as the "wandering meatloaf". The name "gumboot chiton" seems to derive from a resemblance to part of a rubber Wellington boot or "gum rubber" boot.

<i>Chiton glaucus</i> Species of mollusc

Chiton glaucus, common name the green chiton or the blue green chiton, is a species of chiton, a marine polyplacophoran mollusk in the family Chitonidae, the typical chitons. It is the most common chiton species in New Zealand. Chiton glaucus is part of a very primitive group of mollusc with evidence of being present in up to 80 million years of the fossil record.

A valve is each articulating part of the shell of a mollusc or another multi-shelled animal such as brachiopods and some crustaceans. Each part is known as a valve or in the case of chitons, a "plate". Members of two classes of molluscs, the Bivalvia (clams) and the Polyplacophora (chitons), have valves.

<i>Pecten jacobaeus</i> Species of mollusc

Pecten jacobaeus, the Mediterranean scallop, is a species of scallop, an edible saltwater scallop, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Pectinidae, the scallops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brachiopod</span> Phylum of marine animals also known as lamp shells

Brachiopods, phylum Brachiopoda, are a phylum of animals that have hard "valves" (shells) on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, while the front can be opened for feeding or closed for protection. Two major categories are traditionally recognized, articulate and inarticulate brachiopods. The word "articulate" is used to describe the tooth-and-groove structures of the valve-hinge which is present in the articulate group, and absent from the inarticulate group. This is the leading diagnostic skeletal feature, by which the two main groups can be readily distinguished as fossils. Articulate brachiopods have toothed hinges and simple, vertically oriented opening and closing muscles. Conversely, inarticulate brachiopods have weak, untoothed hinges and a more complex system of vertical and oblique (diagonal) muscles used to keep the two valves aligned. In many brachiopods, a stalk-like pedicle projects from an opening near the hinge of one of the valves, known as the pedicle or ventral valve. The pedicle, when present, keeps the animal anchored to the seabed but clear of sediment which would obstruct the opening.

<i>Chiton tuberculatus</i> Species of mollusc

Chiton tuberculatus, the West Indian green chiton, is a species of chiton, a marine polyplacophoran mollusk in the family Chitonidae, the typical chitons.

<i>Acanthopleura granulata</i>

Acanthopleura granulata, common name the West Indian fuzzy chiton, is a medium-sized tropical species of chiton. This type of chiton's activity does not depend on spring-neap oscillations leading to lower locomotion loss. Its morphology is different from usual chitons as it has a fifth valve, which is split into halves.

<i>Acanthochitona fascicularis</i> Species of mollusc

Acanthochitona fascicularis, the Velvety mail shell, is a common chiton in the family Acanthochitonidae.

<i>Fabulina fabula</i> Species of bivalve

Fabulina fabula, the bean-like tellin, is a species of marine bivalve mollusc in the family Tellinidae. It is found off the coasts of northwest Europe, where it lives buried in sandy sediments.

<i>Orthasterias</i> Genus of starfishes

Orthasterias is a genus of sea stars in the family Asteriidae. Orthasterias koehleri, the rainbow star or red-banded sea star, is the only species in the genus. It is found in the North Pacific Ocean.

<i>Gigantoproductus giganteus</i> Extinct species of large brachiopod

Gigantoproductus giganteus is an extinct species of brachiopods in the family Monticuliferidae, known only from its fossil remains. It was a marine invertebrate found on the seabed in shallow seas. It evolved during the Carboniferous period and it is believed to be the largest brachiopod that has ever existed.

<i>Barbatia barbata</i> Species of bivalve

Barbatia barbata is a species of ark clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Arcidae, the ark clams.

<i>Dosinia exoleta</i> Species of bivalve

Dosinia exoleta, common name the rayed artemis, is a saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Veneridae, the venus clams.

<i>Plaxiphora albida</i> Species of mollusc

Plaxiphora albida, the white Plaxiphora chiton, is a species of chiton in the family Mopaliidae.

<i>Argyrotheca</i> Genus of brachiopods

Argyrotheca is a genus of very small to minute lampshells. All species share a large pedicel opening, one ridge on the inside of the pedunculate valve, pits in a diamond pattern on the inside of both valves, and without radial ridges that end in tubercles. It occurs in depths between 6 and 1300 m. It is known since the latest Cretaceous.

Plaxiphora caelata is a small chiton in the family Mopaliidae, endemic to the main islands of New Zealand, Stewart Island and the Chatham Islands.

<i>Acanthochitona crinita</i> Species of mollusc

Acanthochitona crinita is a species of marine chiton in the family Acanthochitonidae. It is found on rocky coasts in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

References

  1. URMO: UNESCO-IOC Register of Marine Organisms. Land J. van der (ed)
  2. WoRMS
  3. 1 2 Mondo Marino Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Area Marina di Portofino". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2015-09-03.
  5. Wildlife Archipelago [ permanent dead link ]
  6. Asgaard, Ulla; Bromley, Richard G. (1991). "Colonization by micromorph brachiopods in the shallow subtidal of the eastern Mediterranean Sea". In MacKinnon, D. I.; Lee, Daphne E.; Campbell, J. D. (eds.). Brachiopods through Time. A.A. Balkema. pp. 261–264. ISBN   90-6191-160-5 . Retrieved 11 July 2024 via Google Books.
  7. SeaLifeBase