Tag: purple sea urchin

Homes for Urchins

Purple sea urchins sit in the depressions they've carved over time into the tide pool at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area in Newport, Oregon

Purple sea urchins sit in the depressions they’ve carved over time into the tide pool, minimizing the force of the waves as the tide comes in and out. I came across these urchins in 2004 on a sunny day at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area in Newport, Oregon. The picture below is a different set of urchins but taken on the same day, I’ve posted this one before but it was years ago.

Purple sea urchins sit in the depressions they've carved over time into the tide pool at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area in Newport, Oregon

Urchincy

A group of purple sea urchins have carved out holes for themselves in a tide pool at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area in Newport, Oregon

A group of purple sea urchins have carved out holes for themselves in a tide pool at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area in Newport, Oregon. I’m fascinated how a seemingly immobile creature that looks like a prickly cat toy could do such a thing, something I could never do, and yet they can’t remove the driftwood that the tide drops over them.

Give urchins opposable thumbs and they’d probably conquer the world.