Acanthopleura granulata
(Gmelin, 1791) · speciesAt a glance
Sources11 archives
Databases and archives Acanthopleura granulata's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation4 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility3 279 records↗
OBISOcean Biodiversity Information System572 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI113 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics15 specimens↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinegenome & karyotype↗
Catalogue of LifeCOLtaxonomy↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
Acanthopleura granulata, common name the West Indian fuzzy chiton (also known as Curbs or Sea Cradles), is a medium-sized tropical species of chiton. This type of chiton's activity does not depend on spring-neap oscillations leading to lower locomotion loss.Focardi, S., & Chelazzi, G. (1990). Ecological determinants of bioeconomics in three intertidal chitons (Acanthopleura spp.). Journal of Animal Ecology, 49(1), 347-362. Its morphology is different from usual chitons as it has a fifth valve, which is split into halves.Kingston, A., Sigwart, J., Chappell, D., & Speiser, D. (2019). Monster or multiplacophoran: A teratological specimen of the chiton Acanthopleura granulata (Mollusca: Polyplacophora) with a valve split into independent and symmetrical halves. Acta Zoologica, Acta Zoologica, 03/18/2019. This species is common within its range in the tropical Western Atlantic, but it is often not noticed, because its color and texture are similar to the rocks on which it lives. With not many predators the West Indian fuzzy chiton can live up to 40 years. In countries that used to be part of the British West Indies, these and other common intertidal chitons are known as "curb"; the foot of the animal is eaten by people and is also used as bait for fishing. Museum specimen of Acanthopleura granulata from Barbados
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Size & morphology1
Habitat & environment2
Other traits3
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Acanthopleura granulata has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
The complete instruction manual Acanthopleura granulata carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers
Assembly level tells you how finished the sequence is — from fragmented contigs, through scaffolds, up to a full chromosome-level assembly. BUSCO % estimates completeness: the share of genes expected to be present that were actually found. These describe the data quality, not the organism.
Record type3 851 records
Origin
Range
Depth
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions14 of 36 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| Cambridge, US | 124 |
| Philadelphia, US | 68 |
| CASlocation not on record | 66 |
| Brussels, BE | 54 |
| Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record | 49 |
| RBINS-Scientific Heritagelocation not on record | 40 |
| Delaware Museum of Nature and Sciencelocation not on record | 39 |
| Paris, FR | 23 |
| Chicago, US | 18 |
| Chongqing Museumlocation not on record | 18 |
| UM-RSMASlocation not on record | 13 |
| Texas Cooperative Wildlife Collectionlocation not on record | 8 |
| Universidad El Bosque (El Bosque)location not on record | 7 |
| Santa Barbara Museum of Natural Historylocation not on record | 6 |
| Champaign, US | 5 |
| Natural History Museum Rotterdamlocation not on record | 5 |
| Denver, US | 4 |
| Paleontological Research Institutionlocation not on record | 3 |
| North Carolina Museum of Natural Scienceslocation not on record | 3 |
| National Biodiversity Institute, Costa Ricalocation not on record | 3 |
| Mexico City, MX | 2 |
| Stockholm, SE | 2 |
| Washington, US | 2 |
| The University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobagolocation not on record | 2 |
| Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (INVEMAR)location not on record | 2 |
| Universidad de Antioquia (UdeA)location not on record | 2 |
| Natural History Museum of Utahlocation not on record | 2 |
| Gothenburg, SE | 2 |
| Ann Arbor, US | 2 |
| Florida Atlantic University, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Museumlocation not on record | 2 |
| Barcelona, ES | 1 |
| Provincia di Livornolocation not on record | 1 |
| ELMClocation not on record | 1 |
| New Haven, US | 1 |
| Alabama Museum of Natural Historylocation not on record | 1 |
| Museo Enrico Pirajno di Mandralisca | Enrico Pirajno di Mandralisca Museumlocation not on record | 1 |
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Where the DNA of Acanthopleura granulata was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Measured at samplingin-field
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.