''Chiton politus'', the tulip chiton, is a medium-sized

polyplacophoran Chitons () are marine (ocean), marine molluscs of varying size in the class (biology), class Polyplacophora (), formerly known as Amphineura. About 940 Extant taxon, extant and 430 fossil species are recognized. They are also sometimes known ...

mollusc Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Chitonidae, found on the coast of southern Africa.

Description

The species can display a variety of shell patterns consisting of brown patches and zigzags on smooth pink

valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings ...

s. The central section of each valve often has a striped pattern. The girdle is covered with smooth, overlapping scales and also striped. Average adult length is 30–40 mm.

Distribution and habitat

''C. politus'' occurs along the south coast of Africa, from

Cape Columbine Cape Columbine is well known for its lighthouse, the last staffed lighthouse built on the South African coast The Cape Columbine Lighthouse was commissioned on October 1, 1936. Both the headland and lighthouse derive their name from the barque C ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

to the south coast of

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. It is quite common and can usually be found as solitary individuals under rocks near the low tide mark. The original description by

Lorenz Spengler Lorenz Spengler (22 September 1720 – 20 December 1807) was a Danish turner and naturalist. Born in Schaffhausen, Switzerland he arrived at Copenhagen in 1743 and became a tutor to Christian VI of Denmark and later Frederick V of Denmark in the ...

recorded it at the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

References

Chitonidae Molluscs of Africa Chitons described in 1797 {{chiton-stub