''Tonicella lineata'', commonly known as the lined chiton, is a species of

chiton Chitons () are marine molluscs of varying size in the class Polyplacophora (), formerly known as Amphineura. About 940 extant and 430 fossil species are recognized. They are also sometimes known as gumboots or sea cradles or coat-of-mail s ...

from the North Pacific.

Size and description

''Tonicella lineata'' is a very colorful chiton, having blue, purple or black straight or zig-zag lines on each of the eight

valves 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 ...

. The background color of the valves is often brown or red, but can also be bright blue or yellow to orange. The girdle is hairless and brown to red or pink, often with regular yellow or white patches. This species grows to 5 cm in length.

Similar species

Tonicella lokii ''Tonicella lokii'', commonly known as the flame lined chiton or Loki's chiton, is a chiton in the lined chiton genus ''Tonicella''. Size and description Like most chitons in this genus, ''T. lokii'' has blue, white, purple or black zig-zaged ...

'' is extremely similar but has radiating bands on the girdle. ''

Tonicella undocaerulea ''Tonicella undocaerulea'', commonly known as the blue lined chiton, is a species of chiton. Size and description The blue-lined chiton features a head plate adorned with zigzagging white concentric lines, which may appear blue while the creatu ...

'' is very similar but lacks a dark border to the concentric blue lines on the anterior plate. ''

Mopalia spectabilis ''Mopalia spectabilis'', commonly known as the red-flecked mopalia, is a species of chiton. Size and description ''Mopalia spectabilis'' is a chiton that has a central area of plates 2-7 pitted in longitudinal rows. The girdle commonly banded li ...

'' looks superficially similar due to its bright blue wavy lines on the valves, but has a hairy girdle.Baldwin, A. (2007). Illustrated Keys to the chitons (Polyplacophora). Accessed from: It can also be confused with ''

Tonicella insignis ''Tonicella insignis'', the white-lined chiton, or red chiton, also known as the hidden chiton, belongs to the Tonicellidae family in the class Polyplacophora, and the phylum of Mollusca. Its body length of T. insignis is around 5 cm. Habit ...

'' ( Reeve, 1847) which retains the zig-zag pattern in concentric rings on the first and eighth valves and also the lines are most often white.Lamb, Andy & Handy, Bernard P. Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest Harbour Publishing 2005

Distribution and habitat

The natural

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

of ''T. lineata'' stretches from the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

San Miguel Island San Miguel Island (Chumash: ''Tuqan'') is the westernmost of California's Channel Islands, located across the Santa Barbara Channel in the Pacific Ocean, within Santa Barbara County, California. San Miguel is the sixth-largest of the eight Ch ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, as well as the

Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk ( rus, Охо́тское мо́ре, Ohótskoye móre ; ja, オホーツク海, Ohōtsuku-kai) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and northern

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. This species has also been found in

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

, Washington on floats. It has been recorded from

intertidal The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of Marine habitat, habitats with var ...

and

subtidal The neritic zone (or sublittoral zone) is the relatively shallow part of the ocean above the drop-off of the continental shelf, approximately in depth. From the point of view of marine biology it forms a relatively stable and well-illuminated ...

waters to a depth of .Morris, Robert H., Donald P. Abbot, and Eugene C. Haderlie (1980). ''Intertidal Invertebrates of California''. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA. 690 pp.

Biology

''Tonicella lineata'' often occurs on rocks that are encrusted by coralline

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

; presumably this is what their coloration is intended to camouflage against. If knocked from its substrate, ''T. lineata'' will contract into a ball in order to protect its vulnerable ventral side, similar to many

isopods Isopoda is an order of crustaceans that includes woodlice and their relatives. Isopods live in the sea, in fresh water, or on land. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on the thorax, an ...

. Coralline algae are also the major food item of ''T. lineata''. On the

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

coast this species can be found living under purple urchins (''

Strongylocentrotus purpuratus ''Strongylocentrotus purpuratus'', the purple sea urchin, lives along the eastern edge of the Pacific Ocean extending from Ensenada, Mexico, to British Columbia, Canada. This sea urchin species is deep purple in color, and lives in lower in ...

''). This species is preyed upon by the sea stars ''

Pisaster ochraceus ''Pisaster ochraceus'', generally known as the purple sea star, ochre sea star, or ochre starfish, is a common seastar found among the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Identified as a keystone species, ''P. ochraceus'' is considered an important indi ...

'' and ''

Leptasterias haxactis ''Leptasterias'' is a genus of starfish in the family Asteriidae. Members of this genus are characterised by having six arms although five-armed specimens sometimes occur. ''L. muelleri'' is the type species. The taxonomy of the genus is confus ...

''.Kozloff, Eugene (1993). ''Seashore Life of the Northern Pacific Coast''. University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA. 370 pp. Animals out of water only have about 73% the respiration of submerged animals, and likely incur an oxygen debt while out of water that must be repaid once resubmerged. When submerged, gas exchange occurs by water flowing from the anterior portion of the chiton into the mantle cavity where the ctenidia (gills) reside in the pallial grooves. This also takes care of waste produced as the water passes over the anus after the ctenidia and carries away fecesBrusca, Richard C. & Brusca, Gary J. Invertebrates Sinauer Associates, Inc., Publishers Sunderland, Massachusetts 2003

References

External links

Walla Walla University Marine Invertebrate Key
{{Taxonbar, from=Q944913 Ischnochitonidae Chitons described in 1815