European spiny beetle snail
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European spiny beetle snail ( Acanthochitona crinita ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Acanthochitona crinita | ||||||||||||
| ( Pennant , 1777) |
The European spiny beetle snail ( Acanthochitona crinita ) is a species of the beetle snail (Polyplacophora) from the tribe of the molluscs (Mollusca). It comes on rocky coasts of the European Atlantic coast z. T. in very large numbers of individuals (up to 1000 animals per m²).
features
The outer outline shape is elongated elliptical. In cross-section, the back is flat, the foot flat. The animals reach a length of 3.4 cm and a width of about 2.5 cm. The back is covered with eight shell plates, with six similar intermediate plates, a small elliptical tail plate and an approximately semicircular head plate. They are made of aragonite . All shell plates are covered with irregularly distributed warts of different sizes. The basic color of the shell plates is very variable, from off-white, gray, yellowish, greenish, brownish to shades of blue. The drawing is spotted, striped or marbled, rarely in one color. The head and tail plates are rounded forwards and backwards, respectively. The intermediate plates are strongly keeled. The back is surrounded by a relatively wide belt from which 18–20 tufts of calcareous needles protrude. The lime needles up to 1 mm long are milky-white to colorless. The rest of the belt is covered by short and irregularly distributed lime needles. There are 10 to 15 pairs of gills in the mantle cavity.
Geographical occurrence and way of life
This species occurs on the east coast of the Atlantic . In the north the distribution area extends to about 66 ° north latitude, in the south to West Africa. The species is also found in the Mediterranean and some mid-Atlantic islands ( Azores , Cape Verde Islands ). The animals live on rocky coasts ( littoral ) to depths of 50 m, to which this species has adapted very well. The slowly moving animals graze algae from stones, holding onto with their muscular feet. Their radula teeth, which are reinforced with magnetite, can also graze on calcareous algae. If an animal is washed into the sea, it can curl up like a woodlice for protection . The animals live on average only about a year old, an exception among the beetle snails, which usually live several years.
Subspecies
Acanthochitona crinita is divided into subspecies by a few authors :
- Acanthochitona crinita crinita ( Pennant , 1777), Atlantic coast from Norway to the Iberian Peninsula
- Acanthochitona crinita oblonga ( Leloup , 1981), Mediterranean
- Acanthochitona crinita adansoni Rochebrune 1881, Cape Verde Islands and West Africa
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c A. Bode: Production of the intertidal chiton Acanthochitona crinita within a community of Corallina elongata (Rhodophyta). Journal of Molluscan Studies: 55, 37-44, London 1989 abstract
- ↑ A chiton - Acanthochitona crinita ( Memento from October 5, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) at MarLIN - The Marine Life Information Network (English, accessed March 9, 2010)
On-line
- Acanthochitona crinita (Species description in Swedish; PDF; 123 kB)
Web links
- Acanthochitona crinita on World Register of Marine Species
- Acanthochitona crinita Marine Species Identification Portal (accessed March 7, 2010)
- Image and taxon profile at BioLib (accessed March 7, 2010)