# Help me identify this sea creature **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 6, 2008, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-sea-creature/440287 "2008-03-06T04:19:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-sea-creature/440287/1 "2008-03-06T04:19:09Z")
We found [this animal](http://www.flickr.com/photos/24401973@N05/)(?) at our northern California beach near Santa Cruz this evening. Three of them actually. Never seen one before. Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-sea-creature/440287/2 "2008-03-06T04:22:14Z")
Abalone? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-sea-creature/440287/3 "2008-03-06T04:42:50Z")
It’s a chiton. Possibly the [Giant Pacific “Gumboot” Chiton.](http://coastalwebweaver.com/GumbootChiton/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-sea-creature/440287/4 "2008-03-06T04:44:44Z")
Looks to me like it could be a [gumboot chiton](http://www.biocrawler.com/encyclopedia/Image:Gumboot_Chiton.jpg) or a related species. Chitons are mollusks that are something like snails, but have a shell made of a series of plates rather than a single unit. In the gumboot chiton, the plates are entirely covered by the fleshy mantle. If the creatures are still around, see if you can feel the plates on its back through the mantle. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-sea-creature/440287/5 "2008-03-06T05:48:52Z")
Yes, it was. Surprisingly pronounced: kahy-ton. You learn something new everyday. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Dave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/46a35a/32.png) [@Great\_Dave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Dave)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-sea-creature/440287/6 "2008-03-06T05:51:29Z")
My intro scuba instructor seemed to think they resembled poonani. He also offered advanced and muff diving classes. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-sea-creature/440287/7 "2008-03-06T05:53:02Z")
It _looked_ like an anti-loneliness device they had on sale underneath the locked glass cabinet down at Spanky’s Emporium. ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-sea-creature/440287/8 "2008-03-06T06:00:29Z")
Clearly it’s the creature from Aeon Flux with the Bliss Berry of forgetfulness. Duh. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-sea-creature/440287/9 "2008-03-06T06:04:37Z")
Looks erotic. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-sea-creature/440287/10 "2008-03-06T08:48:13Z")
Vagina Dentata man. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-sea-creature/440287/11 "2008-03-06T14:19:59Z")
It’s the marine canteloupe, _Cucumis pacificus_. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-sea-creature/440287/12 "2008-03-06T15:16:14Z")
[QUOTE=Squink] It’s a chiton. Possibly the [Giant Pacific “Gumboot” Chiton.](http://coastalwebweaver.com/GumbootChiton/index.html) [/QUOTE] Ah yes, the Gumboot Chiton, natures ocarina. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-sea-creature/440287/13 "2008-03-06T15:23:40Z")
Gumboot Chiton trivia: They have magnetic teeth. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-sea-creature/440287/14 "2008-03-06T17:00:45Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Gumboot Chiton trivia: They have magnetic teeth. [/QUOTE] They have whatnow?! Fill us in, please! PS. Who the hell named this thing? Gumboot?!? ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-sea-creature/440287/15 "2008-03-06T17:28:13Z")
I bet I know what it tastes like. ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-sea-creature/440287/16 "2008-03-06T18:04:23Z")
[QUOTE=NurseCarmen] I bet I know what it tastes like. [/QUOTE] Smells a bit fishy to me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-sea-creature/440287/17 "2008-03-06T18:15:06Z")
[QUOTE=NurseCarmen] I bet I know what it tastes like. [/QUOTE] Risotto? ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-sea-creature/440287/18 "2008-03-06T22:31:07Z")
[QUOTE=kaylasdad99] It _looked_ like an anti-loneliness device they had on sale underneath the locked glass cabinet down at Spanky’s Emporium. [/QUOTE] This is almost the exact sentiment I expressed to my GF on the beach. Put a vibrating nub on the underside and this thing and it would snug up nicely, I’m guessing. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-sea-creature/440287/19 "2008-03-06T23:52:01Z")
[QUOTE=ShadowFacts] They have whatnow?! Fill us in, please! [/quote] They have a radula (essentially a tongue) tipped with a rasp composed of magnetite. > [@](#): > > PS. Who the hell named this thing? Gumboot?!? The specimens we’re seeing in the photos here are turned almost inside out - in life, they look like a hard wavy, stony plate (visible as the tooth-like scales inside the cavity in the pictures) with a thick rubbery sole (which is the soft body parts of the animal). Think of it as a very substantial slug with a shield-like plate on its back. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-sea-creature/440287/20 "2008-03-06T23:56:13Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] The specimens we’re seeing in the photos here are turned almost inside out - [/QUOTE] Is it the dying that does that? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-sea-creature/440287.md?page=2)