Chiton, << KY tuhn, >> is a marine animal protected by a tough eight-pieced shell. The shell’s hard pieces are known as valves. Leathery flesh called the girdle holds the valves together. There are hundreds of kinds of chitons. They live mostly in shallow waters, where they use their foot, a broad, muscular organ, to cling to rocks. Most chitons are sluggish animals that feed on plantlike organisms called algae. They eat with their radula, a ribbon of hard teeth. Chitons grow from about 1/3 to 12 inches (1 to 30 centimeters) long.
