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| molluscs text index | photo index |
| Phylum Mollusca > Class Polyplacophora |
| Jewelled chiton Acanthopleura gemmata Class Polyplacophora updated Jun 2020 Where seen? It has been seen on natural rocky shores on our Southern shores. Many were also seen on artificial seawalls, often hidden in crevices in the concrete slabs. Features: Up to 12cm long, the oval flattened body is covered with 8 overlapping plates along the centre. A thick, stiff mantle forms a girdle around the plates to the body edges. The girdle is covered with bristles. Sometimes mistaken for a scale worm which is a polychaete worm that also has overlapping scales but has well developed tentacles and rows of bristles along the sides of the body. |
 St. John's Island, Sep 09 |
 A large and small one found on artificial seawalls. Seringat-Kias, Jan 19 |
| What do they eat? Like snails,
chitons have a rough 'tongue' called a radula that is used to rasp
off fine algae or other encrustations. They creep slowly about when
submerged and at night. When exposed at low tide and during the day,
they are usually motionless in some dark, wet hiding place. Status and threats: It is listed as 'Endangered' on the Red List of threatened animals of Singapore. |
| Jewelled chitons on Singapore shores |
On wildsingapore
flickr
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| Other sightings on Singapore shores |
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