Chitons · Marine Life

Black chiton (Onithochiton literatus)

Adult chiton leaving a crevice. Port Edward, Kawzulu-Natal (2021) – iNaturalist

Shell valves usually brownish-black, sculptured with wavy radiating lines, often badly eroded in larger specimens.
Girdle broad, brown to black, velvety with minute embedded spicules.

25 – 50 mm in length.

One of the few common chitons in Natal. Found in the open on wave-exposed rocks or around the margins of rock pools.

Two Oceans: A Guide to the Marine Life of Southern Africa (2007)
Adult chiton cruising on a rock. Port St Johns, Wild Coast (2021) – iNaturalist

Close-up of the oral and aboral surfaces of a (probably) juvenile black chiton. Port Edward, KwaZulu-Natal (2022).

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