Eternal Youth of Nature

Sunday, September 19, 2010

The Spiny Chiton



What a strange animal this is. The Spiny Chiton clings to rocks in the tide pools. Some scientists think this species has been on the Earth for about 500 million years! See the eight plates on its back? The plates allow its body to curve so its “foot” can create a suction cup, just like the limpet. Even though chitons can really stick to the rocks, sometimes they fall off. When they fall off of the rock, they can form into a ball, like a pill bug. This protects them. Do you know what
a rasp tool is? It is a long, straight tool that has hundreds of little “teeth” that will shave down wood or metal. In its mouth, the Spiny Chiton has a rasp-like band called a radula. The Spiny Chiton rubs its radula against the algae on the rocks. The algae gets scraped off and goes into the mouth of the Spiny Chiton. When they can get pried off of the rocks, Spiny Chitons are eaten by starfish, crab, fish, seagulls, and anemones. Do you see one Spiny Chiton, or two?


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