LOOK WHAT TWO kids scooped up in their net yesterday when I was passing by. Their mother was watching from a distance. It's a sea urchin.
I asked the boy if it was safe to touch. "No sé," he responded. ("I don't know.")
He didn't know if it was safe to touch, he told me as he held it in his hand!!!
I looked it up. It was a black sea urchin. Specifically, arbacia lixula. It's perfectly harmless.
In case you were wondering, the anus is on top and is surrounded by four plates that form an anal valve.
MIRA LO QUE dos niños recogieron en su red ayer cuando yo estaba de paso. Su madre estaba mirando desde la distancia. Es un erizo de mar.
Le pregunté al niño si era seguro tocarlo. "No sé", respondió.
¡No sabía si era seguro tocar, me dijo mientras lo sostenía en su mano!
Lo busqué. Era un erizo de mar negro. Especificamente, arbacia lixula. Es perfectamente inofensivo.
En caso de que te lo estés preguntando, el ano está en la parte superior y está rodeado por cuatro placas que forman una válvula anal.
An urchin with an urchin!
ReplyDeleteDebra:
DeleteI love it! Great minds think alike (well, at least your mind is great). I was going to call this post Oliver Twist and use that whole street urchin them, but it didn't make sense in Spanish no matter how hard I tried. So, thank YOU!!!
There is something I have never eaten, they say the roe is quite good.
ReplyDeleteTravel:
DeleteI just had that sea urchin mouseline in Conil. That's as far as I've gotten.
very spiny.
ReplyDeleteanne marie:
DeleteIt was beautiful to see. The kid's sister spotted it between the rocks and he ran over with the net.
I'll bet those kids were having a great time. I would be!
ReplyDeleteJennifer:
DeleteThere's a jetty not far from the port that is a blast for kids (and adults). So much to discover.
Good thing it was harmless
ReplyDeleteAdam:
DeleteI have a feeling the kid really knew that. His mother was nearby. Just a typical kid answer, "I don't know." But he was very pleasant.
I always wondered where the anus of a sea urchin was! Now I know!! lol
ReplyDeleteJim:
DeleteI know! I've lost sleep over that. What a relief.
Ah the curiosity and folly of youth
ReplyDeleteSpo:
DeleteThere's a scene in Gilligan's Island (that my brother makes me reenact for him every time we see each other) where Gilligan makes wings and flaps so much that he sets himself aloft. Skipper says, "Gilligan! You can't fly!" Gilligan says, "I can't?!?" and immediately falls to the ground.
He touched it whether it was safe or not.
ReplyDeleteKirk:
DeleteHe walked away with it, too. I wonder if Mom was cooking it that night.
Yikes!
ReplyDeleteJudy:
DeleteI really think the kid knew what he was doing even though he said he didn't know. Maybe he thought I was asking if it was safe to eat...