Polyplacophora |
Chitonida |
Mopaliidae
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Benthic; depth range 0 - 40 m (Ref. 290). Temperate
Eastern Pacific.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm Max length : 13.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 290)
Girdle: Black leathery covering almost the entire dorsal area. Dorsal ridge area of each valve: small portion; left exposed (Ref. 296).
Surf-zone to 40 m. Usually found on stony or rocky bottoms (Ref. 290); in the middle intertidal zone from Alaska to Point Conception; North of Santa Barbara; also on rocky shore with heavy wave action (Ref. 312). Herbivorous, feeding primarily on red and green algae and benthic diatoms (Ref. 312).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Members of the class Polyplacophora are mostly gonochoric. Life cycle: Eggs hatch into lecitotrophic planktonic trocophore larvae (no veliger stage) which later metamorphose and settle on the bottom as young adults.
Burghardt, G. and L. Burghardt 2006 West Coast Chitons. A Gallery of Worlwide Chitons: http://home.inreach.com/burghart/wcoast.html[accessed20/01/06] (Ref. 296)
IUCN Red List Status
(Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
CITES status (Ref. 108899)
Not Evaluated
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Human uses
| FishSource |
Tools
More information
Population dynamicsGrowth
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Abundance
Life cycleReproductionMaturityFecunditySpawningEggsEgg developmentLarvae PhysiologyOxygen consumption
Human RelatedStamps, coins, misc.
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature
(Ref.
115969): 6.1 - 10.9, mean 8.9 (based on 94 cells).
Fishing Vulnerability
Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Price category
Unknown.
