Sea urchin in the lagoon (a little closer)
I shouldn't have been surprised to find it there, on an intertidal beach on the northwest coast of Banda Aceh. But, yes, I admit, seeing that Sea Urchin was a surprise for me at that time, and also an exciting thing.
Now I look at the pictures I took. The color of the spines of what is also called the sea hedgehog is apparently banded in dark and light colors. Because of this, it is called banded sea urchin. It is characteristic of an Echinothrix calamaris, which is a species of the Diadematidae family. According to Wikipedia, it lives from the surface to a depth of 70 meters, and is found in lagoons like the one where I found it.
The sea urchin that I met turned out to be hiding in a rock filled with oysters. I'm guessing, it eats those oysters when it's nocturnal. Because when adults, this species is also carnivorous.
So what is that thing that looks like a floating balloon? That was the anus of this Sea urchin while its mouth was definitely stuck to that rock. So we see it face down.
Photos: my own
Reading source: Sea urchin; Banded sea urchin.
first time seeing this. is this regarded as a fish or what?
It's a different phylum to fish. This is in the Phylum Echinodermata. Thanks for stopping by.🙂
What makes you think, at all, it CAN be mistaken as a fish? lol
Maybe, because it's just to make sure there won't be any fish like that!🙂
anything i see under the water, i regard them as fish though 😂😂. though this is the first time i am seeing this
As far as I know, sea urchins can pull their stomach out, wrap their prey around it and digest meal that way. You've got an interesting example.
Thank you very much for the additional information, and for the nice feedback.🙂
And believe it or not, when I was desperately looking for mushrooms everywhere around where I live now, I actually found it! Lol.
Now, I'm just waiting for the rainy season to change that situation!😓