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17 facts about the wee sea potatoes

March 14, 2013 by 2 Comments

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, and my Irish heritage, here’s a post on the humble and charming sea potato.

  1. The dried shell (also known as the test) of this urchin resembles a potato, hence the common name – sea potato.
  2. The sea potato, Echinocardium cordatum, is a common echinoderm found along beaches on all coasts of Britain and Ireland.
  3. The sea potato is related to sea urchins, heart urchins, and sand dollars.
  4. Most sea urchins live in rocky areas, but the sea potato prefers sand, particularly muddy sand.
  5. The spines of this echinoderm are thin and flattened.
  6. On the underside of the urchin are special spoon-shaped spines that help it to dig.
  7. There are longer spines of the back of the sea potato which aid in helping to breathe while it is burrowing.
  8. The sea potato can survive to depths of 650 feet.
  9. Unlike regular urchins, the sea potato has a distinct front end (i.e., not circular).
  10. The sea potato can grow up to 3 inches.
  11. The sea potato is very fragile and rarely survives collection.
  12. While alive the sea potato is deep yellow in color and covered in fine spines.
  13. The sea potato prefers sub-tidal regions in temperate seas.
  14. The sea potato are a type of heart-shaped urchin.
  15. Sea potato are deposit feeders and tube feet on its underside the sea urchin pick up sediment from the front of its mouth.
  16. The sea potato has no conservation concerns.
  17. The sea potato often has a commensal symbiotic relationship with the bivalve Tellimya feringuosa attached to its anal spines.
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A sea potato, commonly found along the shore of Ireland

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The test of the sea potato

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The underside of the sea potato

Filed Under: Beach, Echinoderms, Invertebrates, Marine Science, Wrack Line

Monday Inspiration: Persian Ceiling by Dale Chihuly

December 3, 2012 by Leave a Comment

This past weekend I took a road trip to Richmond, VA and was thrilled to be introduced to the ethereal artistry of the glassworks created by Dale Chihuly at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. In particular from this exhibit, the piece ‘Persian Ceiling‘ is an experience I wanted to share. As I gazed up into the illuminated glass ceiling with the gleaming and luminescent art densely piled up (practically to the sky!),  I was certain I had been transformed to another point in time.

It was as if I was witness to the Great Barrier Reef at its apex in species diversity and brilliance of color. I wondered how he created such movement in still objects – spectacular! No doubt I was head-over-heels impressed due to the beautiful daylight that was paired with the exhibit space. I also found it incredibly playful how Chiluly interspersed echinoderms, mollusks, and cephalopods to give the illusion that you’re indeed walking under the sea (see if you can spot them in the images below). If you have the opportunity, you cannot go wrong with investigating the work of Chihuly. If you’re lucky enough to see his work first hand, it will surely brighten your day and have your feeling inspired.

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Images (c) Beach Chair Scientist

Filed Under: Inspiration, Random Fun! Tagged With: , , , , ,

Getting to know three … Malacostracan edition

September 3, 2012 by 1 Comment

Ever know instinctively that some animals are ‘related’ and just can’t pinpoint their similarities? On the third day of every month I explain three features that are common among three animals of a certain group. Of course, generally each group has more than three representatives and even  many more similarities and then even more differences, but I am going to choose three similarities that link threes to keep it simplified. This month is focused on the shrimp, the lobster, and the crab – all crustaceans, but more specifically all are members of the largest of the six classes of crustaceans known as the Malacostraca class. (Need a refresher on the trusty mnemonic device for classification? Click here.)

Check out ‘Getting to know three … Echinoderm edition’.

Filed Under: Animal Homes, Arthropods, Crustaceans, Random Fun!, Test Your Knowledge Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Getting to know three … Echinoderm edition

August 3, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Sure you know that some animals are related to one another. Often though it’s difficult to pinpoint their similarities.  Well, on the third day of every month I am going to explain three features that are common among the animals of a certain group. Each group generally has more than three representatives, but I am going to choose three to keep it simplified.

To get us started … Have you ever thought about what a sea urchin, sea star, and a sand dollar have in common? Among others in this group those three animals are in a phylum of marine animals know as the echinoderms. Sea cucumbers and brittle stars are also well-known echinoderms. Check out the image below to learn what these animals all have in common.

Please do not hesitate to email me at info@beachchairscientist.com with questions, comments, or suggestions.

Filed Under: Echinoderms Tagged With: , , , , ,

How does a sea star move?

May 29, 2012 by 1 Comment

I came across this image of a dissected sea star and had to share it. It does a great job of identifying intricate details of the sea star physiology that are involved with the locomotion and vascular system of the invertebrate.

The vascular system is part of the circulatory system that helps  transport nutrients back and forth across the animal’s body. These echinoderms (a group of marine invertebrates known for bumpy skin and radial symmetry, including sea stars, sea urchins, and sand dollars) begin the movement of their tubed feet with water entering through the madreporite. The madreporite is the wart-like, red or yellow opening in the center of the sea star. It acts like a  pressure-equalizing valve. Next, the water will circle around the stone canal to be distributed to the arms of the sea star. At this point, water goes to the tubed feet and being the act of moving by contracting and stretching. Tubed feet also come in handy when grasping food to place into the mouth of the sea star. For more information and a great image of the madreporite of a sea star click here.

If you have a great question just email info@beachchairscientist.com.

Image (c): top – http://w3.shorecrest.org, bottom – wikipedia.com

Filed Under: Echinoderms Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

What eats sea urchins? Revisited

January 2, 2012 by 1 Comment

Sea UrchinBack in 2008 we brought you some information on what eats sea urchins. After all, it is hard to imagine anything being able to enjoy the spiny echinoderms. Here is an interactive game (you must have Flash) produced by Stanford University that takes it one step further. Try to place which animals and/or plants are eaten by the sea urchin (prey), which animals eat the sea urchin (predator), and which animals and/or plants may not have a relationship with the sea urchin. You see some great similarities of the animals that eat the sea urchin! Come back here and share what you discover after playing the game. Enjoy!

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Filed Under: Echinoderms Tagged With: , , ,

Can we eat sea cucumbers?

June 8, 2010 by 4 Comments

There’s a funny animal that lives on the floor of the ocean and likes to eat what most of us would only wipe off the bottom of our shoes. It’s name is the sea cucumber. The sea cucumber is an echinoderm and is closely related to sea stars, sea urchins, and sand dollars.To protect itself the sea cucumber will expel its intestines outside of its body to distract predators. The sea cucumber is a prized Japanese culinary tradition used often in soups and stews. Fisheries along the Atlantic coast have been popping up in the past twenty years to sell sea cucumbers.

Check out this video from National Geographic on how they (literally) fight with guts for glory:

Do you have another great question? Simply email me at info@beachchairscientist.com.

Filed Under: Echinoderms Tagged With:

Answers to “Test your knowledge of sea stars”

January 3, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Answers to “Test your knowledge of sea stars” from December 31, 2009.

True or False: Sea stars are fish. They are echinoderms, a group of invertebrates. Invertebrates have no backbones. All fish have backbones.
True or False: Sea stars are closely related to sea cucumbers, sea urchins and brittle stars.
True or False: Sea stars have a flexible skeleton.
True or False: Sea stars breathe through gills. They breathe through a water vascular system. You can see the tube feet (a main component of the water vascular system) on the underside of the sea stars.
True or False: Sea stars can regenerate most body parts.

Congrats to all those that got them correct!

Filed Under: Echinoderms, Ocean, Random Fun!, Test Your Knowledge

Is a starfish really a fish?

February 20, 2009 by 1 Comment

No. The classic common name is very misleading. Scientists and environmental educators are transitioning their language to seastar when referring to this animal because, well, it is not a fish.

The seastar is in the same family as the sea urchin, sea cucumber, sand image_sci_animal021dollar and a few others that all have these things in common: fivefold radial symmetry, spiny skin and a water based vascular system.

The family is called the “echinoderms” which means spiny skinned.

Image (c) dk clipart.

Do you have another great question? Check out www.beachchairscientist.com and let us know what you always ponder while digging your toes in the sand!

Filed Under: Echinoderms