Sea urchins are thorny animals that live on the seabed. Although sea urchins are not dexterous hunters – they move slowly on tubular legs – their diet may surprise you.
Let’s dive deeper into what sea urchins eat and how this class of animals managed to survive for hundreds of millions of years.
How do sea urchins eat
Sea urchins are a class of animals with approximately 950 species, although sea urchins exist up to three miles below the surface of the ocean, and there are probably hundreds of species of sea urchins yet to be classified.
While sea urchins may not look as complex as gigantic species like whales or beautifully colored fish, they are an evolutionary marvel and have flourished for over 450 million years. Sea urchins are so successful because their spines and plump exterior effectively protect them from many predators.
Sea urchins have a mouth at the bottom of the shell, surrounded by tubular legs. Since the mouth is facing the ground, it is rarely attacked by predators. The mouth of sea urchins can snap and tear, allowing them to feed on a variety of food sources. Most sea urchins have five “teeth” that resemble plates in the mouth and a fleshy surface that resembles a tongue.
What do sea urchins eat?
Sea urchins are omnivores that feed in a variety of ways. The diet of sea urchins includes:
- Seaweed
- Plankton
- Sponges
- Molluscs
- Seaweed
- Feather star
- Seashells
- Moss animals
- Jellyfish
- Fish (deceased)
The bottom line is that sea urchins are opportunistic. Although plants such as algae and algae make up most of their diet, they also eat whatever prey they have available. Video of sea urchins has shown that they feed on dead fish, and some species of sea urchins may even be much more active predators than previously thought!
What does sea urchins eat?
Although sea urchins are protected by their shells, they do have a number of predators. There are a number of animals that eat sea urchins:
Wolf eels, in particular, have evolved to hunt sea urchins. It is important that sea urchins have natural predators as they can quickly deprive areas of the algae and other fauna needed for a thriving ecosystem.
Besides all these predators, people are addicted to sea urchins. In Japanese cooking, the sea urchin is called uni, and the sea urchin’s gonad (or genital gland) is a delicacy. Most of the world’s sea urchins are consumed in Japan, but the species is used in cooking in many cultures around the world.
