Sea urchins

Sea urchins: small animals with many spines

Sea urchins can also be found in many shapes and sizes, and as the name suggests, they have lots of spines. You have probably seen them before in an aquarium. However, most sea urchins in our museum do not have any spines; only their skeleton remains. If you think this makes sea urchins less special, you would be mistaken! Just take a look at the beautiful shapes and colours they have.

Did you know?

Sea urchins, like starfish, belong to the family of ‘echinodermata’, which means spiny-skinned animals. You can probably guess why!

Dried sea urchins

To ensure that the marine animals in the museum are well preserved, most of them have been dried. This includes the different types of sea urchins. When cleaning the display cases or moving the sea urchins, extreme care is necessary.