Lined Chiton (Tonicella lineata)

Description: Lined chitons range from a pink to orange to red color with a distinct striped pattern on their eight plates that can be red, blue, orange, or green. Lined chitons are one of the smaller species found at Haystack Rock and are a maximum of 5 cm long.

Habitat: Lined chitons range from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to the Channel Islands in southern California. Typically in the low intertidal to shallow subtidal zones, lined chitons live on algae covered rocks. At Haystack Rock they are often found on the underside of rocks near encrusting coralline algae.

Diet: Lined chitons feed primarily on coralline algae, but can graze on other species of algae as well.

Tide Pool Tidbits:

• The eggs of this chiton are green!

• Lined chitons are often found under or near purple urchins. They’re also found living in abandoned urchin burrows (indents in the rocks).

References: Walla Walla University, The New Beachcomber’s Guide to the Pacific Northwest by J Duane Sept