Strange worm ID help

aztbs

Active member
I found this in my refugium stuck on a piece of live rock. It is about 1inch long and 1/4in wide. Here is a top down and a bottom up picture:

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mysteryworm1.jpg


bottom
mysteryworm2.jpg


I suspected maybe a polyclad flatworm, but I just got done treating the 'fuge with a really strong dose of flatworm exit a few hours before I found him. It doesn't seem to have affected it at all. Once I played with it a little, I don't think it is a flatworm of any kind.

It is not a hard shell, it is firm, and the brown "spines" on top are hard. It was stuck so good to the rock that I had to cut the rock to get it to let go. It bends and twists around and then suctions on to whatever it can grab.

I suspect maybe it is some kind of limpet or snail? It is so odd. Any ideas, please let me know! I have it in a small container, I do not know if I should put it back in the tank.
 
Yes, it's a chiton and it looks like a Cryptoplax. These are grazers which scrape microalgae & film off hard surfaces.
 
Awesome - thanks for the ID. I have seen several chiton but never one that looked like this. He's back in the refugium, I will probably never see it again. :)
 
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