The New Zealand chitons Ischnochiton luteoroseus Suter, 1907 and Ischnochiton granulifer Thiele, 1909 (Mollusca: Polyplacophora)

Abstract

Comparison of type specimens and additional material reveals that the poorly known taxon Ischnochiton granulifer Thiele, 1909 described from an unspecified locality in New Zealand, is specifically distinct from Ischnochiton luteoroseus Suter, 1907 with which it had been synonymised. The two species are redescribed and their distributions detailed. They are strongly allopatric off the north-eastern North Island of New Zealand and the sub-Antarctic islands south of New Zealand respectively.