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Hairy chiton

Topic

Overview

Hairy chiton

Plaxiphora caelata (Reeve 1847)

(= schauinslandi Thiele)

Description:  Plates short, wide; all 8 plates visible; dorsal surface of girdle with long coarse hairs or setae. Girdle wider laterally than anteriorly or posteriorly.  The valves are broad and wide. Shell plates may be overgrown with bryozoans.

Colour: Variable on differing substrates, dark blue black to brown with lighter markings 

Size: up to 5 cm long.

Range and Habitat

Usually in shaded depressions or crevices or under rocks, often associated with crustose coralline algae

Depth: 0-20? m

 

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Taxonomy

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