''Acanthopleura granulata'',

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

the

West Indian A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...

fuzzy chiton (also known as Curbs or Sea Cradles), is a medium-sized tropical

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 ...

. This type of chiton's activity does not depend on spring-neap oscillations leading to lower locomotion loss.Focardi, S., & Chelazzi, G. (1990). Ecological determinants of bioeconomics in three intertidal chitons (Acanthopleura spp.). Journal of Animal Ecology, 49(1), 347-362. Its morphology is different from usual chitons as it has a fifth valve, which is split into halves.Kingston, A., Sigwart, J., Chappell, D., & Speiser, D. (2019). Monster or multiplacophoran: A teratological specimen of the chiton Acanthopleura granulata (Mollusca: Polyplacophora) with a valve split into independent and symmetrical halves. Acta Zoologica, Acta Zoologica, 03/18/2019. This species is common within its range in the tropical Western Atlantic, but it is often not noticed, because its color and texture are similar to the rocks on which it lives. With not many predators the West Indian fuzzy chiton can live up to 40 years. In countries that used to be part of the British West Indies, these and other common intertidal chitons are known as "curb"; the foot of the animal is eaten by people and is also used as bait for fishing. Chitonidae - Acanthopleura granulata

Description

This species of chiton grows to be about in length.Malacolog info
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girdle A belt, especially if a cord or rope, is called a girdle if it is worn as part of Christian liturgical vestments, or in certain historical, literary or sports contexts. Girdles are used to close a cassock in Christian denominations, including th ...

is densely spiky and usually has a few black bands. The surface of the valves (or plates) in this species is almost always heavily eroded in adults, but when not eroded, the valve surface is granulated. The valves are thick and heavy. The morphology of the West Indian Fuzzy Chiton contains a fifth valve, split into two symmetrical half valves that are independent to each other and other valves. A griddle-like tissue splits the valves. This specific type of chiton displays hundreds of shell eyes (< 100 µm) embedded in their dorsal shell. These eyes provide special vision, containing a retina, layer of screening pigment and a lens.

Distribution

This chiton occurs from southern

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, south to

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

, and in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. They orient themselves, maintaining a constant zonal level, according to the exposure to wave action along the coastal shore line. This organization is due to their foraging behavior, which is limited to the nocturnal low tides.

Ecology

This species lives on rocks very high in the

intertidal zone 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 habitats with various species o ...

. It can tolerate a lot of sun. Feeding is primarily nocturnal as there are increased levels of

Hsp70 The 70 kilodalton heat shock proteins (Hsp70s or DnaK) are a family of conserved ubiquitously expressed heat shock proteins. Proteins with similar structure exist in virtually all living organisms. Intracellularly localized Hsp70s are an importa ...

, heat shock proteins which protects the organisms from environmental stressors including high temperatures, in the foot muscle under natural night time conditions . During the day, levels decrease again as the stress level protein follows the daily air temperature curve. It feeds on several species of algae.Glynn, Peter Willia
On the Ecology of the Caribbean Chitons Acanthopleura Granulata Gmelin and Chiton Tuberculatus Linni: Density, Mortality, Feeding, Reproduction, and Growth
Smithsonian Libraries

Gallery

File:Acanthopleura granulata plates.jpg, Two valves of ''A. granulata'', an intermediate plate (32 mm) and a tail plate (21 mm) File:Acanthopleura granulata with Nerita tessellata.jpg, Two individuals of ''A. granulata'' in their natural habitat on a rock in

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

File:Acanthopleura granulata (West Indian fuzzy chitons) (San Salvador Island, Bahamas) 1 (16131898481).jpg File:La Cienaga de Ocumare Aragua - Venezuela 015.jpg

References

* Gmelin, J.F., (1791). Caroli a Linné, Systema naturae per regna tria naturae. Editio decima tertia. Leipzig, Germany: 1(6) class 6, Vermes: 3021-3910 * Abbott, R Tucker (1954). American Seashells. D. Van Nostrand Company Inc. xiv + 541 p. N.York. * Warmke, Germaine L. & Abbott, R Tucker. 1961. Caribbean Seashells. Livingston Publishing Company. Narbeth. Pennsylvania. * Speiser, Daniel I., Douglas J. Eernisse & Sönke Johnsen. 2011. A chiton uses aragonite lenses to form images. Current Biology, 21(8):665-670 * Rodríguez, G. 1959. “The marine communities of Margarita Island, Venezuela”. Bulletin of Marine Science of the Gulf and Caribbean, Coral Gables, FL, 9(3): 237-280 * Daniel I. Speiser, Daniel G. DeMartini & Todd H. Oakley
The shell-eyes of the chiton Acanthopleura granulata (Mollusca, Polyplacophora) use pheomelanin as a screening pigment

External links

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{{Taxonbar, from=Q2016910 Chitonidae Chitons described in 1791 Edible molluscs Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Gmelin Fauna of the Caribbean