Ocean Species Discoveries 28–30 — new species of chitons (Mollusca, Polyplacophora) and a public naming competition

By

(Sosa), Senckenberg Ocean Species Alliance
Chen, Chong
Frank, Hosea
Kraniotis, Laura
Nakadera, Yumi
Schwabe, Enrico
Sigwart, Julia
Trautwein, Bianca
Vončina, Katarzyna

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2026-2-6

Original Publication

Biodiversity data journal

Volume

14

Pages

1--26

Subjects

Acanthochitonidae , Ferreiraellidae , Mopaliidae , Sunken wood , taxonomy , True Facts , YouTube

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia Pensoft Publishers [2013]-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.14.e180491

 

Abstract

<br> Three new chitons are reported from distinct and underexplored marine habitats:<br> Ferreiraella populi<br> sp. nov. from deep-sea sunken wood off Japan in the western Pacific,<br> Notoplax madagascariensis<br> sp. nov. from Madagascar, and the carnivorous<br> Placiphorella granulosa<br> sp. nov. from Papua New Guinea, occurring from the sublittoral into the bathyal zone. These findings broaden current understanding of chiton diversity and emphasise how much remains undocumented in the deep-sea and tropical systems. The discovery of<br> Notoplax madagascariensis<br> sp. nov. is particularly relevant for ongoing efforts to resolve generic limits within Cryptoplacoidea, where both taxonomic and molecular evidence remain incomplete.<br> <br> <br> The three species described here add substantially to the known diversity and ecological breadth of chitons. The species epithet of the new<br> Ferreiraella<br> species was the outcome of a public naming competition, an initiative intended to raise awareness of taxonomy and enhance public engagement with species discovery. All three chitons illustrate the value of targeted sampling across poorly-studied habitats.<br>