Ear: Urchin

“It is very well known that a sea urchin is not a pleasant creature to come into close contact with while walking around in the ocean,” the Seaside Aquarium noted on Facebook recently. “The spines are hollow and sharp, though not venomous like many believe, they still hurt to get embedded under your skin.

“The outer skeleton of an urchin is called a test, not a shell. Also, at the very center of the underside of the test are five bony plates fused together; this is called Aristotle’s Lantern. In the infamous Greek philosopher’s publications, he described urchins’ mouths to resemble a lantern, and so scientists have kept the term …

“Remember this for a future fact of the day: Aristotle’s Lantern is the mouth of an urchin, and the body is called a test.” (Photo: Seaside Aquarium)