Chiton

Chitons /ˈkaɪtənz/ are small to large marine molluscs in the class Polyplacophora, formerly known as Amphineura. About 940extant and 430 fossil species are recognized.

They are also sometimes known as sea cradles or "coat-of-mail shells", or more formally as loricates, polyplacophorans, and occasionally as polyplacophores.

Chitons have a dorsal shell, which is composed of eight separate shell plates or valves. These plates overlap somewhat at the front and back edges, and yet articulate well with one another. Because of this, although the plates provide good protection for impacts from above, they nonetheless permit the chiton to flex upward when needed for locomotion over uneven surfaces, and also allow the animal to slowly curl up into a ball when it is dislodged from the underlying surface. The shell plates are surrounded by a structure known as a girdle.

Habitat

Chitons live worldwide, in cold water, warm water, and in the tropics. Most chiton species inhabit intertidal or subtidal zones, and do not extend beyond the photic zone.

Chiton (genus)

Chiton is a genus of chitons, a polyplacophoran mollusk in the family Chitonidae.

Taxonomy

The genus Chiton has been split into several subgenera as follows:

Chiton (costume)

A chiton (Greek: χιτών, khitōn) was a form of clothing and is a sewn garment, unlike the peplos, a draped garment held on the shoulders by a fibula.

There are two forms of chiton, the Doric chiton and the later Ionic chiton. The Doric style was simpler and had no sleeves, being simply pinned, sewn, or buttoned at the shoulder. The Ionic style was made of a much wider piece of fabric, and was pinned, sewn, or buttoned all the way from the neck to the wrists and the excess fabric gathered by the zone or girdled at the waist. By the late Archaic, Ionic chitons had become more common, especially for men.

History and usage

The Doric chiton is a single rectangle of woolen or linen fabric. It can be worn plain or with an overfold called an apotygma which is more common to women. It can be draped and fastened at the shoulder by pins (fibulae) or sewing, or by buttons. The Ionic chiton could also be made from linen or wool and was draped without the fold and held in place from neck to wrist by several small pins. A large belt called a zoster could be worn over the chiton, usually under the breast ("high-girdled") or around the waist ("low-girdled") or a narrower "zone" or girdle could be used. The chiton's length was greater than the height of the wearer, so excessive fabric was pulled above the belt, like a blouse.