Leptochiton cancellatus
(G. B. Sowerby II, 1840)
Shetlands to Madeira, Mediterranean. Possibly amphiatlantic.
Grazer in the infralittoral down to the continental shelf and slope. Basionym: Chiton cancellatus. Synonym: tuberculatus Leach (not Linnaeus).
 
Shell small (up to 8mm in length), whitish to cream with patches of black ferrugineous deposits. « Valves relatively tall, and shaped as round arches with no keel » (Conch. Soc. Great britain and Ireland).

Above and below: on stone at 100m deep, Bozcaada island, Çanakkale province, W. Marmara, NW. Turkey. 4,05mm.
Posterior plate markedly concave below the mucro.
This is a specific feature.
« No posterior beak on intermediate valves […] Cancellated by closely packed, almost touching, oval granules in chainlike lines running radially on valves i & viii, and on lateral areas of valves ii to vii (sometimes obsolete on lateral areas). Lines longitudinal on central areas of valves ii to vii. » – I. F. Smith: “Leptochiton cancellatus, Identification and Biology”, 2020, available on ResearchGate – (CC BY-NC-ND).
At low tide along the slipway at La Corderie, southern shore of Pointe Béchard, Saint-Malo, NE. Brittany, NW. France.
Original picture provided by P. Corbrion for iNaturalist.
– (CC BY-NC-SA) –
Shallow water on rock, les Échaudières, at the foot of Grainfollet hill, Saint-Suliac, Lower Rance Basin, NE. Brittany.
Original picture provided by P. Corbrion for iNaturalist.
– (CC BY-NC-SA) –
Subadult without deposits, Bozcaada, 80m deep. 3,65mm.

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