Plaxiphora obtecta

Plaxiphora obtecta
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Polyplacophora
Order:	Chitonida
Family:	Mopaliidae
Genus:	Plaxiphora
Species:	P. obtecta
Binomial name
	Plaxiphora obtecta; Carpenter in Pilsbry, 1893
Synonyms
	Guildingia obtecta Iredale & Hull 1932; Morton & Miller 1968, 1973; Walsby & Morton 1982

Plaxiphora obtecta is a large chiton in the family Mopaliidae,² endemic to New Zealand, where it is most often found on the West Coast of the North Island. It is called Haka-hiwihiwi by some Māori³ and was likely a food source.

Description and habitat

Up to 90 millimetres (3.5 in) long and 65 millimetres (2.6 in) wide, making it one of the largest chitons found in New Zealand. It has a broad dark brown girdle dotted with small short bristles, and reduced dark green valves, sometimes with a paler stripe down the centre. It is frequent around the holdfasts of algae and in rock crevices around the low intertidal zone, usually on exposed coasts.⁴

References

Cook, Steve De C. (2010). New Zealand Coastal Marine Invertebrates. Vol. 1. Canterbury University Press, NZ. ISBN 978-1877257-60-5.
Marshall, Bruce (2022). "Plaxiphora obtecta Carpenter, 1893". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species.
"Chiton, Giant". Marine Life Database. University of Otago.
Morton, J.; Miller, M. (1968). The New Zealand Sea Shore. Auckland NZ: Collins.

[1] Cook, Steve De C. (2010). New Zealand Coastal Marine Invertebrates. Vol. 1. Canterbury University Press, NZ. ISBN 978-1877257-60-5.

[2] Marshall, Bruce (2022). "Plaxiphora obtecta Carpenter, 1893". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species.

[3] "Chiton, Giant". Marine Life Database. University of Otago.

[4] Morton, J.; Miller, M. (1968). The New Zealand Sea Shore. Auckland NZ: Collins.

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