Under the plates the chiton has a broad oval foot for locomotion. Fossils of chitons have been found up to a half a million years old. A muscular foot holds it securely to rocky surfaces and is also used for locomotion. Abalones have tentacles that smell and locate seaweed. The kelp is scraped and eaten by a rasp-like tongue called a radula.
Abalone blood contains properties used against penicillin-resistant bacteria, but is unable to clot.
Abalones will bleed to death when cut by a careless diver, or prey such as eels, crabs, sea stars, octopi, and sea otters. Species in this area include black, green, pink, and red. Abalones have been overharvested for food and their shells, and are becoming threateningly scarce. Grunion runs are actually the spawning of millions of these slender silvery fish as they wash up on the beach at high tide. Females wriggle tail first into the sand to deposit eggs.