West Indian Green Chiton, Chiton tuberculatus

The chitons are a major group of marine mollusks that are distinguished by having eight overlapping shells bound together by a leathery “girdle.” This flexible arrangement allows chitons to form themselves to the rock surfaces on which they mostly live, making them hard to dislodge. They feed mostly on algae using rasping teeth that are tipped with metal compounds, and their shells house thousands of primitive light-sensitive eyes. Much remains unknown about this large, cosmopolitan group. The common West Indian Green Chiton is found all over the Caribbean and in Florida, where it lives on rocky shores.