''Callochiton crocinus'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

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 sea cradles or coat-of-mail shells or suck ...

or "sea cradle" in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Callochitonidae. It occurs on the shores of the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

region. Locally, it is known as "smooth chiton", but that name is elsewhere applied to other species. It is a rather colorful member of its

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

, yellowish- to reddish-brown with white spots; its

scientific name In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

means "

saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of '' Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent ...

-colored beautiful chiton".

Synonyms

This chiton has a somewhat convoluted

taxonomic 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme of classes (a taxonomy) and the allocation ...

history, being described no less than four times as supposedly new species.

Tom Iredale Tom Iredale (24 March 1880 – 12 April 1972) was an English-born ornithologist and malacologist who had a long association with Australia, where he lived for most of his life. He was an Autodidacticism, autodidact who never went to university ...

believed the individual variation found in ''C. crocinus'' represented no less than three different species – actually, these were not even

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

but merely chance variants –, while Arthur Adams, unaware that the animal had already been validly described shortly before he did, established a name that was a

junior homonym In biology, a homonym is a name for a taxon that is identical in spelling to another such name, that belongs to a different taxon. The rule in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature is that the first such name to be published is the s ...

. The invalid names of the present species are thus: * ''Callochiton platessa''

Suter Suter is a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Alexis P. Suter (born 1963), American blues, and soul blues singer and songwriter * Andrew Burn Suter (1830–1895), Bishop of the Diocese of Nelson, New Zealand * Andrina Suter (bor ...

, 1913 * ''Chiton crocinus'' Reeve, 1847 * ''Chiton versicolor''

A. Adams Arthur Adams (1820 in Gosport, Hampshire – 1878) was an England, English physician and natural history, naturalist. Adams was assistant surgeon Royal Navy on board HMS Samarang (1822), HMS ''Samarang'' during the survey of the islands of ...

, 1852 (''non'' G.B.Sowerby II, 1839:

preoccupied In biology, a homonym is a name for a taxon that is identical in spelling to another such name, that belongs to a different taxon. The rule in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature is that the first such name to be published is the s ...

) * ''Levicoplax platessa'' (Suter, 1913) * ''Paricoplax crocina'' (Reeve, 1847) * ''Paricoplax perscrutanda'' Iredale & Hull, 1929

References

* Powell, A.W.B. (1979): ''New Zealand Mollusca'', William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand. Callochitonidae Chitons of New Zealand Chitons described in 1847 {{Chiton-stub