Arctic cancellate chiton vs coat-of-mail chiton

Leptochiton cancellatus compared with Leptochiton asellus

Key Differences

• Arctic cancellate chiton is Not Evaluated while coat-of-mail chiton is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Arctic cancellate chiton	coat-of-mail chiton
Kingdom same	Animalia (животные)	Animalia (животные)
Phylum same	Mollusca (моллюски)	Mollusca (моллюски)
Class same	Polyplacophora (панцирные моллюски)	Polyplacophora (панцирные моллюски)
Order same	Lepidopleurida (Lepidopleurida)	Lepidopleurida (Lepidopleurida)
Family same	Leptochitonidae	Leptochitonidae
Genus same	Leptochiton	Leptochiton
Species	Leptochiton cancellatus	Leptochiton asellus

Evolutionary Relationship

Arctic cancellate chiton and coat-of-mail chiton share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Leptochiton.

Conservation Status

Arctic cancellate chiton

NE — Not Evaluated

coat-of-mail chiton

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Arctic cancellate chiton	coat-of-mail chiton
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Arctic cancellate chiton

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, France, Netherlands, Sweden, and United Kingdom.

coat-of-mail chiton

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Arctic cancellate chiton

The Arctic cancellate chiton (Leptochiton cancellatus) is a species in the genus Leptochiton. Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

coat-of-mail chiton

Coat-of-mail chiton (Leptochiton asellus) is a small marine mollusc in the class Polyplacophora, family Leptochitonidae, found in cold waters of the northeastern Atlantic and North Sea, including the coasts of Norway, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, and the Iberian Peninsula. It lives on rocky subtidal and shallow intertidal substrates, grazing on encrusting algae, diatoms, and organic detritus adhering to rock surfaces. Like all chitons, it has a distinctive dorsal shell composed of eight articulated plates surrounded by a muscular girdle, allowing it to curl into a ball when dislodged—a characteristic that has earned chitons the common name coat-of-mail. Leptochiton asellus is a small species, typically reaching only 10–20 millimetres, and is often found in aggregations beneath stones and boulders. It is assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN, with stable populations across suitable rocky intertidal and subtidal habitats throughout its range. Chitons as a class are ancient molluscs with fossil records extending to the Cambrian period, representing one of the most primitive lineages of shell-bearing invertebrates.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇸🇪 Sweden