Sypharochiton pelliserpentis
| Sypharochiton pelliserpentis | |
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| Species: | S. pelliserpentis
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| Sypharochiton pelliserpentis | |
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Sypharochiton pelliserpentis is a species of chiton in the family Chitonidae.
Distribution
This species is endemic to New Zealand including the Chatham Islands. It is New Zealand's most common chiton.
Habitat
This chiton is found under stones, above the mid-tide level.
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.
References
- Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1