Description: Slick black oval lumps (up to 4½ inches long) with eight rough, somewhat diamond-shaped patches along the middle of the back, black-leather chitons clamp themselves firmly to the rock—firmly enough to withstand the heaviest surf.
Taxonomy:
Kingdom | Animalia -- Animal, animals, animaux | ||
Phylum | Mollusca -- molluscs, mollusks, mollusques, molusco | ||
Class | Polyplacophora Blainvillle, 1816 -- chíton, poliplacoforo, quíton | ||
Order | Neoloricata Bergenhayn, 1955 -- chitons, chitons, oscabrions | ||
Suborder | Ischnochitonina Bergenhayn, 1930 | ||
Family | Mopaliidae Dall, 1889 | ||
Genus | Katharina Gray, 1847 | ||
Species | Katharina tunicata (W. Wood, 1815) -- black katy, black leather chiton |
Taxonomic information source: ITIS.gov