Description:
Oval chiton 6cm (2.5 inches) long with eight whitish valves and a fuzzy brown girdle with prominent spines (setae; zoom into the photo) that covers only a small portion of the valves.
Habitat:
Exposed in intertidal Zone 2 under rocky ledge at low tide together with agg. anemones and turban snails (one atop the chiton).
Notes:
Chitons having so many species and such a variety of appearance, this specimen is submitted for validation. Source for ID: Polyplacophora (Ee_Clark_Draeger_Light_Smith_07) at http://biology.fullerton.edu/deernisse/p....
Tucked into a clump of Anthopleura elegantissima anemones.
A really neat something, I think these were stuck amongst a bunch of rocks but this one was open faced. The under and reverse side of it is photo'd
This is larger than most Mossy Chitons, and more covered in seaweed than most! I like how clear the 8 plates are.
[Observation for chiton] Pink agregating anenome (Anthopleura elegantissima) share the rock with a chiton (Nuttalina californica), black turban snail (Tegula funebralis) , and two Purple Dwarf Olive
(Callianax biplicata).