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Enoplochiton niger

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Enoplochiton niger
Enoplochiton niger from Isla Playa Ramada, Chile
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Polyplacophora
Order: Chitonida
Family: Chitonidae
Subfamily: Acanthopleurinae
Genus: Enoplochiton
Gray, 1847
Species:
E. niger
Binomial name
Enoplochiton niger
(Barnes, 1824)

Enoplochiton niger is a Southeast Pacific species of chiton, a marine polyplacophoran mollusc in the family Chitonidae, the typical chitons.[1] It is the only species in the genus Enoplochiton.[2]

Description

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With a length of up to 20 cm (7.9 in), Enoplochiton niger is a very large chiton. It is brown in color. Unlike the similar-sized Enoplochiton echinatus of the same region, Enoplochiton niger lacks large spines.[3]

Distribution, habitat and behavior

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The distribution of Enoplochiton niger ranges along the Pacific coast of South America from Coquimbo in Chile to Talara in Peru.[3] It inhabits the intertidal zone,[3] and it is omnivorous.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Enoplochiton niger. WoRMS
  2. ^ Enoplochiton. WoRMS
  3. ^ a b c Araya, J.F.; M.E. Araya (2015). "The shallow-water chitons (Mollusca, Polyplacophora) of Caldera, Region of Atacama, northern Chile". Zoosyst. Evol. 91 (1): 45–58. doi:10.3897/zse.91.8536.
  4. ^ Camus, P.A.; A.H. Navarrete; A.G. Sanhueza; L.F. Opaza (2012). "Trophic ecology of the chiton Acanthopleura echinata on Chilean rocky shores". Revista chilena de historia natural. 85 (1): 123–135. Bibcode:2012RvCHN..85..123C. doi:10.4067/S0716-078X2012000100010.