Friday, November 04, 2005

'deadly' spikes

Sea urchins are spiny sea creatures of the class Echinoidea found in oceans all over the world. (The name sea urchin means sea hedgehog). Their shell, which biologists call the test, is globular in shape, and covered with spines. The size of the test in adults is typically in the range of 3 to 10 cm.

Typical sea urchins have spines 1-2 cm in length, a millimeter or two thick, and not terribly sharp. Diadema antillarum, familiar in the Caribbean, has thin spines that can be 10-20 cm long. Sea urchins are usually dull in color, common colors including green, olive, brown, purple, and black.

the 'deadly' one

The Black Sea Urchin (Centrostephanus rodgersii) is a very common species found in the temperate waters of south eastern Australia, including Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands. This species can be found on rocky reefs and is rabid feeder and is known to decimate life on rocky reefs turning them into ‘urchin barrens’. This species is known to occur in depths of 0 to 30 metres however it is generally found in waters shallower than 10 metres.

this black creature can be found in phi phi waters too! and i got stung!! but survived! phew! wat a nerve wrecking (and painful!) experience!

Rouge a-hemmed @ 1:33 AM 0 rockers