Studies on the Biology and Ecology of the Intertidal Animals of Chichijima Island in the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands II : Description, Distribution, Size Structure in the Population, and Allometric Growth of the Limpet, Notoacmea schrenckii boninensis n. subsp

Abstract

A new subspecies of Acmaeidae, Notoacmea schrenckii boninensis, is described, and general biology of this limpet is observed. At Chichijima Island of the Ogasawara Islands, this limpet was collected from underside of boulders in the intertidal zone of the wave-exposed beaches. The shell size is smaller than that of N. schrenckii schrenckii (Lischke) from Japanese temperate region. The shell is green color with radially scattered lines and V-shape pattern, and is wider and the apex situated more anteriorly than that of N. schrenckii schrenckii. They mainly inhabit the middle intertidal zone and were also distributed in lower number in the lower intertidal zone. No individual was found in a sheltered boulder beach, rock platforms, or tide pools.