''Mopalia spectabilis'', commonly known as the red-flecked mopalia, 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 sh ...

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 light orange and brown. This species nearly always exhibits bright turquoise zigzag markings. The girdle bears prominent hairs that are plumed and are said to look like small “bottle brushes”.Baldwin, A. (2007). Illustrated Keys to the chitons (Polyplacophora). Accessed from: http://www.wallawalla.edu/academics/departments/biology/rosario/inverts/Mollusca/Polyplacophora/Baldwin_Polyplacophora_Key_Sept_2007.pdf Kozloff, Eugene N. (1987). ''Marine Invertebrates of the Pacific Northwest''. University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA. 511 pp.

Similar species

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

'' and '' Tonicella undocaerulea'' both have wavey bright blue lines on valves, however both '' Tonicella'' species have hairless girdles that are red or pink, often with yellow or white mottling, but never brown bands.

Distribution and habitat

The natural range of ''M. spectabilis'' stretches from

Kodiak Island Kodiak Island (Alutiiq language, Alutiiq: ''Qikertaq''), is a large island on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, separated from the Alaska mainland by the Shelikof Strait. The largest island in the Kodiak Archipelago, Kodiak Island is ...

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 ...

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

. It is commonly found under ledges and on the bottoms of rocks in intertidal waters to a depth of 10 m (33 feet).Sept, J. D. (1999). ''The Beachcomber's Guide to Seashore Life in the Pacific Northwest''. Harbour Publishing, Madeira Park, BC, Canada. 235 pp.

Biology

This chiton feeds on a variety of

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s including

sponge Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate throug ...

hydroids Hydroids are a life stage for most animals of the class Hydrozoa, small predators related to jellyfish. Some hydroids such as the freshwater ''Hydra'' are solitary, with the polyp attached directly to the substrate. When these produce buds, ...

, bryozoans, and

tunicate A tunicate is a marine invertebrate animal, a member of the subphylum Tunicata (). It is part of the Chordata, a phylum which includes all animals with dorsal nerve cords and notochords (including vertebrates). The subphylum was at one time ...

s (particularly '' Metandrocarpa taylori''). A species of scaleworm is sometimes found in the mantle cavity. This species often carries hitchhikers attached to its valves, including encrusting bryozoans and small tube worms.O'Clair, R.M. and C.E. O'Clair. (1998). ''Southeast Alaska's Rocky Shores''. Plant Press: Auke Bay, Alaska. 563 pp. Recent molecular systematic studies have suggested that ''M. spectabilis'' is not a

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic ...

species, with '' Mopalia ferreirai'' nested within ''M. spectabilis''.Kelly, R.P., Sarkar, I.N., Eernisse, D.J. and R. DeSalle (2007). DNA barcoding using chitons (genus ''Mopalia''). ''Molecular Ecology Notes'' 7: 177– 183.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q3078394 Mopaliidae Molluscs described in 1977