Have you ever wandered through the water at low tide and checked out the rocks? For sure you’ll see these interesting looking things attached to the rocks. They are called Chitons, Coat of Mail shells or more locally by the colourful name of “suck rock”. Chitons are armoured, oval shaped creatures that live on the rocks around the tide line and basically are almost impossible to pry off the rocks.

  These animals or mollusks are characterised by eight armoured plates. The West Indian Fuzzy Chiton is medium sized and you don’t often notice them because their colour and texture is similar to the rocks on which they live and therefore they blend in. I thought the above photo was unusual because of the tiny star barnacles (also a mollusk) living on it’s back.

 Apparently the Lucayan Tainos used to harvest the chitons by using tools made from conch shells. They were somehow able to get the meat inside without smashing the plates. The small strip of chiton meat is salty, rubbery and a little slimy.