Flattened and oval shape, this chiton has a girdle with large scales, resembling the skin of a snake. The shells are often encrusted with algae or barnacles and the girdle has distinctive light and dark banding pattern.

Commonly found around NZ from the high to low intertidal, on sheltered and expose shores.

grazer

There are light sensors on the shell valves and these can become eroded off in large animals. The species can tolerate sunny, dry conditions and can survive temperatures up to 35 C. It has a home site which it returns to at low tide; the home site can become eroded to match the outer edge of the animals shell over time. It is not known how the chiton finds its way back to the home site.

NZ Coastal Marine Invertebrates; Vol 1