Catalog Number:
31313
Object/Specimen Description:

This specimen is the shell of a Northern Red Chiton. Chitons are marine mollusks. The shell is brown and off-white in color and measures approximately 9.5 cm x 5 cm.

Specimen Count:
1
Precise Locality:

McClellon Park

Locality:
US Northeast (NY, CT, RI, MA, VT, NH, ME)
Collecting Locality:
North America, United States, Maine, Washington County
Cabinet:
09
Drawer/Shelf:
06
Upper Level Taxonomy:
Animalia, Mollusca, Polyplacophora, Neoloricata, Chitonida, Acanthochitonina, Mopaliidae, Mopaliinae

Mollusks have soft bodies (mollis = soft) with no internal skeleton. They hold their shape by internal water pressure (a hydrostatic skeleton). A muscular skin-like structure called the mantle covers the back of a mollusk, protecting its mass of internal body organs (viscera). Most mollusks also have a hard shell or at least some hard plates over the mantle. Shells are made of a protein matrix holding together crystals of calcium carbonate. Under those layers is a calcium-containing third layer that in some species is shiny mother-of-pearl. This layered structure makes for a strong shell that protects the soft parts from predators and provides a site for muscle attachment. Most mollusks move their bodies slowly using a muscular structure called the foot to creep along, stick to, or burrow into surfaces, although some mollusks (e.g. squid and scallops) swim.