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Snakeskin Chiton (Sypharochiton pelliserpentis)
A mollusc with a flattened body and eight distinctive overlapping plates that protect them from predators and crashing waves. This chiton was grey-green in colour, about 63 mm x 35 mm. The girdle encircling the plates had a snake-skin like appearance giving it the common name "snakeskin chiton".
These chitons were found attached to the side of a rock in an intertidal rocky shore (Cape Conran) off the south coast of Victoria facing the Bass Strait.
This species is said to prefer rock surfaces in the mid-tide region, rather than under rocks in lower -or sub-tidal zones.
''Sypharochiton pelliserpentis'' is a species of chiton in the family Chitonidae. As the species name suggests, the surface of the girdle in this chiton has a pattern of overlaying scales resembling snakeskin.
