Fish of the Day 25 - I got that urchin in me

Today's sea creature is the pacific purple sea urchin! Surchin for urchins...

Purple urchin facts:

- The purple urchin, along with other urchins, don't have brains! I did research on how they function without a brain but it's kinda hard to explain (☉｡☉)!

- They also lack many sensory organs such as eyes, a nose, etc... but they are still able to respond to changes in light or their environment due to sensory molecules.

- Like all urchins, these creatures cannot properly swim. Instead, they use "tube feet". These little limbs project extend over the urchin's spines, and they use a sort of hydraulic system to move them along hard surfaces. It also uses these to breathe, depsite having gills.

- these buggers eat so much kelp, they play a role in the deforestation of Northern California’s kelp forests!! This is due to urchin overpopulation. Kelp is responisble for alot of our planet's oxygen (70% to 80%), so if these things keep eating kelp i will lose my MARBLES!!!!! And my oxygen!!!

- Purple urchins are related to sand dollars!

- Purple sea urchins have a special mouth called Aristotle’s lantern, which consists of 5 teeth, each having it's own jaw. They recieved that name because Aristotle supposedly described them as "lantern-like".

- Some say they can live to 70 years, but thats rare. In reality, most purple urchins live to around 20 years old. (still impressive!)

- Like many sea creatures, the purple urchin usually lives in groups, like in the photo i chose for this blog entry!

Do you got that purple urchin in you? If you do, tell it to stop being such a kelp muncher! At least in kelp forests