Can Chitons Be Eaten

Chitons were prepared in many different ways. The Tlingit ate them raw, or dried for winter [8]. Port Simpson people consumed raw chitons that had been soaked in salt water for several days. In addition, chitons were steamed and eaten with animal fat or roasted on a fire [14].

Do chitons bite?

The diet of many chitons consists of “diatom scuzz” scraped off rocks, but the largest chitons tend to take bites of large algal blades.

What is the purpose of a chiton?

Chitons use a large, flat foot for creeping along and clinging to rocks; they also have a well-developed radula (filelike structure) with which to scrape algae and other plant food from rocks. On either side of the foot is a groove containing the gills.