Wandering Meatloaf by photosynthesis
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Description
Taken at Palmer's Point. As my grandson & I explored the tidepools there, a young couple were there also & we were pointing out our finds to each other. The young woman seemed very knowledgeable about marine biology, so when I found this creature lying on a rock (it was flipped over on it's other side, which was a mottled orange), I asked her if she knew what it was. She said she thought it might be a sea slug, but when she picked it up & looked at it's underside, she seemed sure it was a sea snail. She held it for me so I could get a photo (it was starting to curl up) & then placed it gently into the water.
When I got home & looked up sea snails & sea slugs, they looked nothing like this (sea snails have shells & sea slugs come in all kinds of exotic colors & have fancy frills). I had a hunch it might be a chiton & it turned out that it was. So just because someone sounds authoritative doesn't mean they're right...
From Wikipedia:
"The gumboot chiton (Cryptochiton stelleri) also known as the giant western fiery chiton, is the largest of the chitons, growing to 36 cm (14 in) and over 2 kg (4.4 lb). It is found along the shores of the northern Pacific Ocean from Central California to Alaska, across the Aleutian Islands to the Kamchatka Peninsula and south to Japan. It inhabits the lower intertidal and subtidal zones of rocky coastlines.
Chitons are molluscs which have eight armored plates (called valves) running in a flexible line down their back. Unlike most chitons, the gumboot's valves are completely hidden by its leathery upper skin or girdle, which is usually reddish-brown, brown, and occasionally orange in color. The gumboot chiton's appearance has led some tidepoolers to fondly refer to it as the "wandering meatloaf."
Comments (7)
Richardphotos
very strange creature and a superb capture
moochagoo
Interesting. I never have seen that.
beachsidelegs
WOW It is big a wonderful picture my friend :)
blinkings
It's sensational whatever it is mate!
durleybeachbum
What a wonderful find ! Extremely exciting.
Faemike55
cool and exciting find
auntietk
How very interesting! I've only seen chiton shells ... much, much smaller chiton shells!