Chiton (phylum mollusca) is a type of shelled animal that has been on our planet for a long time.
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These creatures belong to the class Polyplacophora, whose name comes from a Greek word.
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This Greek word means ‘many plates‘, which refers to the eight shell plates on the body of a chiton.
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Chitons have one foot and a radula. While these creatures use the foot to attach themselves to rocks, the radula helps scrape rock surfaces.
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Over 900 species of chitons live in this world today, and all of them have differenttraits. Keep reading to know more chiton facts!
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Chitons are related to snails, mussels, and oysters due to them being in the same phylum.
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One of the main chiton characteristics is that these creatures have eight shell plates on their body, which are arranged in a slightly overlapping structure.
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The overlapping arrangement is such that the dorsal plates allow chitons to convert into a ball-like shape when a threat is around.
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These shells are surrounded by a girdle. This girdle is known as a skirt and can cover the plates to different extents.
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The eight plates also inspire the word for the name of the class that chitons belong to.
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The word Polyplacophora comes from a Greek word.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/large-13.jpg)
This word means many plates.
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The body of loricates or sea cradles can be covered in any length of shell plates and can be of various colors as well.
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They have a mouth on the underside of their shell body. Chitons have only one foot.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mossy_chiton.jpg)
This foot serves the primary purpose of clinging onto rocks. They also have a radula, tiny teeth-like structures used to scrape rocks.
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The size of a chiton, also called a loricate, is usually 2 in (5 cm).
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Understandably, these creatures are pretty small and require much protection in their natural habitat.
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One species, Cryptochiton stelleri, reaches up to lengths of 17 in (43 cm).
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While some chiton species are herbivorous and eat plankton, others are carnivorous.
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Chitons can both scrape algae from rocks and eat small invertebrates and fish that are readily available in their marine habitat.
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Shell animals of the Polyplacophora class are found across the world.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Chiton_shell.jpg)
This is because the many marine species of the class Polyplacophora are highlyadaptive, and their structure supports life in many different places.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Cryptochiton_stelleri-scaled.jpg)
Chitons can be oviparous or viviparous in nature, depending upon the type of chiton in question.
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Most of these shell creatures reproduce through external fertilization.
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In contrast, some female chitons keep fertilized eggs inside their ovary until the time for hatching arrives, while others release eggs individually or in strings to be fertilized by males.
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