Found a very unusual creature, can anyone ID it?

ACBlinky · 08/25/2006, 09:57 PM

I've seen this little guy poking his head out of a rock (it's a piece of Fiji, in case that helps) for a year now. I always figured it was some kind of worm, and never seemed to do any harm so I just left him alone. Recently I broke the tank down due to a leak, and when I was putting the rock back in I noticed him on the bottom of the bin. I thought I'd take the opportunity to snap a picture, and see if anyone knew what he was. My closest guess is a chiton, but he's not like any I've seen before.
He's only about 1" long, and when disturbed he rolls into a ball. He's almost fuzzy looking, raised on top and flat on the bottom, and doesn't seem to wander around, mostly stays inside one rock. I have no idea what he eats, but I don't think he's grown much in a year and he certainly hasn't harmed anything. An ID would be fantastic, but any guesses or suggestions of where to start researching would also be great

Here's a pic:

ACBlinky · 08/25/2006, 10:08 PM

Wow, I think I may have found it! Google is astonishing. Looks like he may be a Cryptoplax striata chiton. Here's a picture I found, what do you guys think? I hope it's permissible to link to another site's pictures, my apologies if it's not.

Here's the site where I found the above picture.

LeslieH · 08/25/2006, 10:10 PM

You were right, it's a chiton in the genus Cryptoplax. The mantle covers most of the shells and the species tend to be long and more worm-like than typical chitons. There are several species; yours looks a bit like Cryptoplax striata.

ACBlinky · 08/25/2006, 10:20 PM

Thanks Leslie, I'm starting to lose count of all the things you've ID'd for me

08/25/2006, 09:57 PM	#1
ACBlinky Premium Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Peterborough, ON, Canada Posts: 4,954 Blog Entries: 20	Found a very unusual creature, can anyone ID it? I've seen this little guy poking his head out of a rock (it's a piece of Fiji, in case that helps) for a year now. I always figured it was some kind of worm, and never seemed to do any harm so I just left him alone. Recently I broke the tank down due to a leak, and when I was putting the rock back in I noticed him on the bottom of the bin. I thought I'd take the opportunity to snap a picture, and see if anyone knew what he was. My closest guess is a chiton, but he's not like any I've seen before. He's only about 1" long, and when disturbed he rolls into a ball. He's almost fuzzy looking, raised on top and flat on the bottom, and doesn't seem to wander around, mostly stays inside one rock. I have no idea what he eats, but I don't think he's grown much in a year and he certainly hasn't harmed anything. An ID would be fantastic, but any guesses or suggestions of where to start researching would also be great Here's a pic:

08/25/2006, 10:08 PM	#2
ACBlinky Premium Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Peterborough, ON, Canada Posts: 4,954 Blog Entries: 20	Wow, I think I may have found it! Google is astonishing. Looks like he may be a Cryptoplax striata chiton. Here's a picture I found, what do you guys think? I hope it's permissible to link to another site's pictures, my apologies if it's not. Here's the site where I found the above picture. __________________ "The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea." - Isak Dinesen Current Tank Info: 150g mixed reef, 30g sump/refugium, LED lighting, 100lbs LR, coral beauty, flame angel, blue & yellow tangs, gobies, damsels, 6-line wrasse, lawnmower blenny, dottyback, clown pair, rabbitfish, shrimp, crabs, CUC.

08/25/2006, 10:10 PM	#3
LeslieH Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 3,178	You were right, it's a chiton in the genus Cryptoplax. The mantle covers most of the shells and the species tend to be long and more worm-like than typical chitons. There are several species; yours looks a bit like Cryptoplax striata. __________________ Cheers, Leslie So many worms, so little time... Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

08/25/2006, 10:20 PM	#4
ACBlinky Premium Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Peterborough, ON, Canada Posts: 4,954 Blog Entries: 20	Thanks Leslie, I'm starting to lose count of all the things you've ID'd for me __________________ "The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea." - Isak Dinesen Current Tank Info: 150g mixed reef, 30g sump/refugium, LED lighting, 100lbs LR, coral beauty, flame angel, blue & yellow tangs, gobies, damsels, 6-line wrasse, lawnmower blenny, dottyback, clown pair, rabbitfish, shrimp, crabs, CUC.