Sea Urchin
sea urchin
spineless sea urchin
a kind of animal – salt-water bottom dwelling (= lives on the bottom of the seas) – related to the sea stars, sea cucumbers – round, ball-shaped body shell, called ‘test’ with long spines, found in several colours – black, green, olive, brown, purple, red, etc., no eyes, no hands or legs but with vey small tube-like feet, the mouth opening on the bottom side and the anus on the top side, five sharp teeth in the mouth, several long or sharp spines; size: on average 4 inch in diameter, (but the smallest – 0.21 inches in ‘test’ diameter, and the largest – 13 inches in ‘test’ diameter); and weight: from 50-120 grams; feeds on algae, sponges, decaying matter, sea weed, mussels, etc; lives for 30 years on average, but some species live for 2-5 years and some live for 200 years; about 700 species, found in all the oceans of the world
Special Features:
Sea urchins are amazing animals with their round bodies and long sharp spines!
Though they seem to be unable to move, they move about slowly with the help of the small tube-like feet, and also with the help of their spines!
The sea urchin looks like (resembles) a pin-cushion; the difference, however, is in a pin cushion the sharp points of the pins are inwards the but in the sea urchin the points of the spines are outwards! The spines of some species are venomous and can be moved! (= poisonous, though not very dangerous to humans; a prick, however, may cause severe pain).
The sea urchin is nicknamed the “hedgehog of the sea” because of its spines.
The sea urchin has its mouth opening on the underside and has its anus on the upper-side!
sea urchin as food
Sea urchins are a favourite food for some people. The only part that is suitable for people to eat is the “roe” (= the clump of eggs) or the “gonads” (= the sex parts) in the ‘test’ (shell)!
Figures of Speech:
1.
(a) as pricky as an urchin
(b) prickly as a prickly-back urchin
[The word ‘urchin’ also means (a) a poor, dirty, ragged and playful (mischievous) boy, (b) a hedgehog, and (c) a ‘sea urchin’. The ‘sand dollars’ are a kind of flat sea urchins!]
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Mr. Kumar, an English language teacher, having taught in many countries around the world including Ethiopia and Oman shares this English Language Reference website using material that he has written and compiled during the past 20 years.
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