| Katharina tunicata | |
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| Species: | K. tunicata |
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| Katharina tunicata Wood, 1815 | |
Katharina tunicata (Wood, 1815) is commonly known as the black Katy chiton, black Leather chiton, black chiton, or leather chiton, (Kasuqix in the indigenous Aleut language) [1] , is a species of chiton in the family Mopaliidae.
Capable of growing up to 12 cm, [2] the animal is generally described as being football-shaped with a black leathery girdle in which are embedded eight protective plates. The parts of the plates that are visible are sometimes (but not always) diamond-shaped in outline. The underside of the animal is dull orange or yellow. [3]
From the dorsal view, the mantle, girdle, and 8 valves are easily distinguishable. The girdle is covered with a chitinous cuticle. The ventral side shows the muscular foot surrounded by the gills on either side. This view also shows the mouth, anterior to the foot, and the anus, posterior to the foot encompassed by the mantle cavity and pallial fold which is then surrounded by the girdle. The gonopores are located at the posterior end just above the anus. The internal anatomy consists of a complete gut, a nervous system with two visceral nerve cords and two serving the foot, and a hemal system composed of the heart, vessels, and unlined sinuses that make the hemocoel. [4]
Like other chitons, it is a slow moving grazer that consumes several species of brown and red algae including kelps, sea lettuce, and encrusting diatoms. They're also known to eat sponges, tiny barnacles, spirobid polychaetes, and bryozoans. Their predators include sea urchins, leather stars, black oystercatchers, glaucous-winged gulls, and humans. [3]
Black Katy chitons are primarily dioecious, diploid organisms. They reach sexual maturity at about 35mm in length. The decrease in temperature experienced around fall will trigger within a newly settled organism the growth of the gonads. Around springtime, the increase in temperatures will trigger the actual production of gametes. Males will first disperse their sperm into the tides which will then induce nearby females to launch their eggs forth to be fertilized. Settlement of the organism is influenced by the presence of coralline algae. Gametogenesis takes place for 5 months of the year, and most of these chitons will live through the reproduction cycle about 3 times. [3]
Chitons undergo biochemical changes through the processes of sexual maturity and reproduction. Studies have been conducted, using K. tunicata, pertaining to the ratio of neutral and polar lipids found within the organism at different stages of its life. [5]
Its distribution ranges from Kamchatka, Russia through the Aleutian Islands to southern California. However, modern, accurate surveys do not exist.
These chitons can be found in intertidal zones to 40m depths. Heavy waves on rocky shores are favorable. K. tunicata is unique compared to other chitons in that it tolerates direct sunlight.
These intertidal zones are susceptible to contamination from industrial activities, timber harvesting, mining, seafood processing, as well as coastal development. Over-visitation and over-harvesting are a common concern. Effects of climate change, present and future, are not fully understood but it will probably affect the diversity and structure of the intertidal communities K. tunicata reside in. [3] This species is protected in the USA under the Coastal Zone Management Act.
The indigenous peoples of California cook this animal on coals or in an earth oven. [6]
Chitons are marine molluscs of varying size in the class Polyplacophora, formerly known as Amphineura. About 940 extant and 430 fossil species are recognized.
A tide pool or rock pool is a shallow pool of seawater that forms on the rocky intertidal shore. Many of these pools exist as separate bodies of water only at low tide.
The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide. This area can include several types of habitats with various species of life, such as seastars, sea urchins, and many species of coral with regional differences in biodiversity. Sometimes it is referred to as the littoral zone or seashore, although those can be defined as a wider region.
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.
The Patellogastropoda, common name true limpets and historically called the Docoglossa, are members of a major phylogenetic group of marine gastropods, treated by experts either as a clade or as a taxonomic order.
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.
Acanthochitona zelandica is a species of chiton in the family Acanthochitonidae, also sometimes known as the hairy, or "tufted," chiton. It probably developed during the mid to late Pleistocene, and is endemic to New Zealand.
Tonicella lineata, commonly known as the lined chiton, is a species of chiton from the North Pacific.
Mopalia muscosa, the mossy chiton, is a species of chiton, a polyplacophoran, an eight-plated marine mollusk. It is a northeastern Pacific species which occurs from British Columbia, Canada, to Baja California Mexico.
Nereis vexillosa belongs to the phylum Annelida, a group known as the segmented worms. It is generally iridescent green and can reach 30 cm in length. It can be distinguished by the size of the upper ligules on the notopodia of the posterior region of the body. The upper ligules are much larger than the lower ligules. It is also without a collar-like structure around the peristomium.
Sessility is the biological property of an organism describing its lack of a means of self-locomotion. Sessile organisms for which natural motility is absent are normally immobile. This is distinct from the botanical concept of sessility, which refers to an organism or biological structure attached directly by its base without a stalk.
Cellana exarata, common name the black-foot ʻopihi and Hawaiian blackfoot is a species of edible true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Nacellidae, one of the families of true limpets. ‘Opihi are significant in Hawaiian history where they have had many uses such as food, tools, and jewelry. They are known as a “fish of death.”
Chiton tuberculatus, the West Indian green chiton, is a species of chiton, a marine polyplacophoran mollusk in the family Chitonidae, the typical chitons.
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.
Lottia gigantea, common name the owl limpet, is a species of sea snail, a true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Lottiidae. Its genome has been sequenced at the Joint Genome Institute.
Dendraster excentricus, also known as the eccentric sand dollar, sea-cake, biscuit-urchin, western sand dollar, or Pacific sand dollar, is a species of sand dollar in the family Dendrasteridae. It is a flattened, burrowing sea urchin found in the north-eastern Pacific Ocean from Alaska to Baja California.
Mopalia ciliata is a chiton in the genus Mopalia, commonly known as the hairy chiton. It is a medium-sized marine mollusc up to 5.0 cm in length. It is oval shaped with 8 separate moderately elevated, overlapping ridged valves on its dorsal surface. It resides along the coast of North America.
Crassadoma is a genus of rock scallops, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Pectinidae. It is monotypic, the only species being Crassadoma gigantea, the rock scallop, giant rock scallop or purple-hinge rock scallop. Although the small juveniles are free-swimming, they soon become sessile, and are cemented to the substrate. These scallops occur in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
Pollicipes polymerus, commonly known as the gooseneck barnacle or leaf barnacle, is a species of stalked barnacle. It is found, often in great numbers, on rocky shores on the Pacific coasts of North America.
Tonicella marmorea is a species of chiton, a polyplacophoran mollusc found in the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean. It was first described by the Danish missionary and naturalist Otto Fabricius.
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