Lepidozona mertensii
| Lepidozona mertensii | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Polyplacophora |
| Order: | Chitonida |
| Family: | Ischnochitonidae |
| Genus: | Lepidozona |
| Species: | L. mertensii |
| Binomial name | |
| Lepidozona mertensii Middendorff, 1847[1] | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Lepidozona mertensii, Merten's chiton, is a species of chiton found under intertidal rocks from northern Alaska to northern Mexico.[2]
Description
Lepidozona mertensii can grow to lengths of up to 5 cm.[3] One of its distinguishing features is the presence of overlapping oval scales on the girdle, giving it a granular appearance.[4] The girdle may also be banded with yellow and red, while the valves tend to be brown, cream, red, or even greenish-purple.[3][4]
Life cycle
Female Merten's chitons lay their eggs in cases,[4] which hatch into planktonic larvae called trochophores.[2] These will metamorphose directly into young adults without a veliger stage.
Etymology
The genus name Lepidozona derives from the Greek words lepis, meaning scale, and zona meaning girdle. Alexander von Middendorff selected the specific epithet mertensii in honor of Karl Heinrich Mertens, to whom he presented his findings after returning from his voyage to the Sea of Okhotsk, sponsored by the Zoological Museum of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in Saint Petersburg.[5]
References
- ↑ Schwabe, Enrico (2009). "Stenoplax heathiana S. S. Berry, 1946". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
- 1 2 "Lepidozona mertensii, Merton's chiton". SeaLifeBase. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
- 1 2 "Chitons (Polyplacophora)". Pacific Northwest Shell Club. October 18, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Cowles, Dave (2005). "Lepidozona mertensii (Middendorff, 1847)". Invertebrates of the Salish Sea. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
- ↑ von Middendorff, Alexander (1847). "Vorläufige Anzeige bisher unbekannter Mollusken, als Vorarbeit zu einer Malacozoologia Rossica". Bulletin de la Classe physico-mathématique de l'Académie impériale des sciences de Saint-Pétersbourg. 6 (8): 113--122.