Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Sea urchins or urchins (/ ˈ ɜːr tʃ ɪ n z /) are typically spiny, globular animals, echinoderms in the class Echinoidea. About 950 species live on the seabed, inhabiting all oceans and depth zones from the intertidal to 5,000 metres (16,000 ft; 2,700 fathoms). [ 1 ]
Sea urchin gonads are highly prized in some Asian and European seafood markets where demand has been increasing. [5] In the New Zealand market, the roe can reach NZ$70 per kg. [18] However, because E. chloroticus is not well known in Japan and has a reputation for having a bitter taste, this sea urchin is unable to reach a high price in export ...
The average adult size is around 50 mm (2 in), but it has been recorded at a diameter of 87 mm (3.4 in). The green sea urchin prefers to eat seaweeds but will eat other organisms. They are eaten by a variety of predators, including sea stars, crabs, large fish, mammals, birds, and humans.
Echinocardium cordatum, also known as the common heart urchin [2] or the sea potato, [3] is a sea urchin in the family Loveniidae. It is found in sub-tidal regions in temperate seas throughout the world. [4] [5] It lives buried in the sandy sea floor.
Many Echnius sea urchins are omnivores, however there are many herbivorous urchins as well. Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, also known as the purple sea urchin, is a herbivorous feeder like some Echinus sea urchins. With that, sea urchins could also be seen as an opportunistic feeder.
To eat large sea urchins, which are mostly covered with spines, the sea otter bites through the underside where the spines are shortest, and licks the soft contents out of the urchin's shell. [ 67 ] The sea otter's use of rocks when hunting and feeding makes it one of the few mammal species to use tools. [ 69 ]
These long-spined sea urchins, or Diadema antillarum, are prickly black creatures that hide out in reefs across the Caribbean. They play a key role as “lawnmowers” of the reef, Breitbart said ...
Diadema antillarum, also known as the lime urchin, black sea urchin, or the long-spined sea urchin, [2] is a species of sea urchin in the family Diadematidae. This sea urchin is characterized by its exceptionally long black spines. It is the most abundant and important herbivore on the coral reefs of the western Atlantic and Caribbean basin.