''Chiltonia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

amphipod Amphipoda () is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods () range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 10,700 amphipod species cur ...

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to New Zealand. Four species are known, three of which live in fresh waters. They were first discovered by

Charles Chilton Charles Frederick William Chilton MBE (15 June 1917 – 2 January 2013) was a British presenter, writer and producer who worked on BBC Radio. He created the 1950s radio serials ''Riders of the Range'' and ''Journey into Space'', and also ...

in 1898 and the genus ''Chiltonia'' was erected the following year by T. R. R. Stebbing in Chilton's honour.

''Chiltonia mihiwaka''

''Chiltonia mihiwaka'' was the first of the species of ''Chiltonia'' to be described, when

named it in 1898 as a species in the genus ''

Hyalella ''Hyalella'' is a genus of amphipods Amphipoda () is an order (biology), order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods () range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scave ...

''. Subsequent taxonomic splits have restricted the name to the populations in the Southland and

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

regions in New Zealand's

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

. Chilton's original material was collected on Mihiwaka, a hill near

Port Chalmers Port Chalmers () is a town serving as the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Port Chalmers lies ten kilometres inside Otago Harbour, some 15 kilometres northeast of Dunedin's city centre. History Early Māori settlement The or ...

. Adults are approximately long, wide and deep.

''Chiltonia enderbyensis''

''Chiltonia. enderbyensis'' was named by Hurley in 1954 for the populations of ''Chiltonia'' living on New Zealand's

subantarctic islands The sub-Antarctic zone is a physiographic region in the Southern Hemisphere, located immediately north of the Antarctic region. This translates roughly to a latitude of between 46° and 60° south of the Equator. The subantarctic region inc ...

, namely

Enderby Island Enderby Island is part of New Zealand's uninhabited Auckland Islands archipelago, south of mainland New Zealand. It is situated just off the northern tip of Auckland Island, the largest island in the archipelago. Geography and geology Enderby ...

(one of the

Auckland Islands The Auckland Islands ( Māori: ''Motu Maha'' "Many islands" or ''Maungahuka'' "Snowy mountains") are an archipelago of New Zealand, lying south of the South Island. The main Auckland Island, occupying , is surrounded by smaller Adams Island ...

) and Campbell Island. Males are approximately long, wide and deep, while females are long, wide and deep.

''Chiltonia rivertonensis''

''Chiltonia rivertonensis'' was also named by Hurley in 1954, for a population living in small streams near Riverton, Southland. In November 2018 the

Department of Conservation Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

classified ''C. rivertonensis'' as "Nationally Critical" under the

New Zealand Threat Classification System The New Zealand Threat Classification System is used by the Department of Conservation to assess conservation priorities of species in New Zealand. The system was developed because the IUCN Red List, a similar conservation status system, had s ...

. The species was judged as meeting the criteria for Nationally Critical threat status as a result of it occupying only in one location, the total area of which is less than 1 hectare. It is considered as being "Data Poor" and "Range Restricted" under that system.

''Chiltonia minuta''

''Chiltonia minuta'' was the last of the four species to be described, and its affinities remain unclear. Whereas all the other species occur in

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salt (chemistry), salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include ...

, ''C. minuta'' was collected under

kelp Kelps are large brown algae or seaweeds that make up the order (biology), order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genus, genera. Despite its appearance and use of photosynthesis in chloroplasts, kelp is technically not a plant but a str ...

on a beach on Campbell Island.

Australia

Two species from

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 ...

, ''C. subtenuis'' and ''C. australis'' were described by Sayce in 1901 and 1902, respectively. Both are now considered to belong to the related genus '' Austrochiltonia''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10449341 Talitrida Freshwater crustaceans of New Zealand Amphipod genera Taxa named by Thomas Roscoe Rede Stebbing