Chiton (Chiton) cumingsii Frembly, 1827

Araya, Juan Francisco & Araya, Marta Esther, 2015, The shallow-water chitons (Mollusca, Polyplacophora) of Caldera, Region of Atacama, northern Chile, Zoosystematics and Evolution 91 (1), pp. 45-58 : 45

Taxon classification Animalia Chitonida Chitonidae

Chiton (Chiton) cumingsii Frembly, 1827 Plate 1, Fig. 5; Table 2

Chiton cumingsii Frembly, 1827: 198, suppl. pl. 16, fig. 3; Dall 1909: 247. Chiton cumingsii : Reeve, 1847, pl. 1, figs 2a, b; Plate 1902: 46, pl. 3, figs 179-184, pl. 4. Chiton cumingi : Pilsbry 1893: 164, pl. 30, figs 29-31. Chiton (Amaurochiton) cumingsii : Bullock 1988: 166, figs 59-63, 69, 74 and 77.

Description.

Animal of large size, reaching almost 60 mm in length in examined specimens. Anterior valve straight; post-mucronal slope of posterior valve slightly concave. Shell color yellowish white with concentric brown bands crossing lateral triangle longitudinally, then proceeding antero–medially over ribs of central area. Girdle light olive green or pinkish-brown. Interior of shell white with some dull green in posterior depression (After Bullock 1988).

Material examined.

Specimens found in all the rocky shore stations (except Playa Rodillo and Norte Bahía de Caldera). Collected under rocks and rock slabs, Sur de Playa Brava (MZUC 39613, 1 specimen).

Distribution.

Marincovich (1973) cites this species from Paita (05°05'S; 81°06'W), Peru to Puerto Montt (41°28'S; 72°56'W), Chile.

Remarks.

This colorful species is the most common and abundant chiton distributed in the zone; found in almost all the locations. It is commonly found in accumulations of several individuals on the underside of rocks at low tide, crawling quickly to the dark if exposed to sunlight. Among the examined specimens, some of them had a pink/orange coloration when juveniles with some adult specimens retaining a uniform pink coloration. This species has been cited as an introduced species in Las Palmas Port, Canary Islands (28°06'N, 15°25'W), being one of the few alien polyplacophoran found in European waters ( Arias and Anadón 2013).