Polyplacophora
Polyplacophora are a class of marine molluscs, known as chitons, sea cradles or coat-of-mail shells.
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About Polyplacophora
Chitons have a shell composed of eight separate shell plates or valves. These plates overlap slightly at the front and back edges, and yet articulate well with one another. There are around 900 species ranging in size between 8mm and 330mm.
Chitons live worldwide, from cold waters through to the tropics. They live on hard surfaces, such as on or under rocks, or in rock crevices. Some species live quite high in the intertidal zone and are exposed to the air and light for long periods. Most species inhabit intertidal or subtidal zones.
The valves are variously colored, patterned, smooth, or sculptured, and are quite popular with collectors, especially the larger species with brightly coloured valves.
Chitons appear in the fossil record as early as the Late Cambrian period, approximately 500 million years ago.