Pencil Sea Urchins
Yesterday, was a No Student Teacher Work day, so we took Coleman and Sophia to Sea Life Aquarium in Concord, North Carolina for a special “no school day” outing. I’ll be sharing other photos from our day in other challenges. Today, I’m sharing trios of Pencil Sea Urchins.
These Pencil Sea Urchins are located in the interactive Touchpool exhibit. The Touchpool was modeled after a rugged West Coast tidepool. This hands-on habitat allows you to gently handle and learn about rock-dwelling invertebrates alongside other coastal species.
off to the side.
Before interacting with the various sea creatures in the Touchpool you must first wash your hands at the Handwashing station located in the exhibit area. Under the guidance of an experienced aquarium educator, you may reach into the shallow pools to touch the urchins.
Pencil Sea Urchins
Pencil Sea Urchins are considered a type of Rock-dwelling Sea Urchins. They are highly specialized for living in turbulent coastal environments, shallow reefs, and surge zones. These areas are where they rely heavily on physical rock structures to survive.
Pencil Sea Urchins are different than other rock-dwelling sea urchins in that they no not bore, instead they are wedgers. They have thick, heavy, blunt spines that look like old-fashioned wooden pencils. They don’t carve new holes from scratch, but instead they crawl into existing rock crevices, caves, and coral reef cracks. After entering inside a crevice, they flare their rigid, thick spines outward just like mechanical anchors. This action wedges them so tightly into the rock that severe ocean waves, high tides , and predators find it impossible to dislodge or pull them out.
Coleman decided not to touch any of the Sea Urchins, instead he chose to touch a less pointed sea creature … a Starfish.
Click on image to enlarge.
Carol’s Thursday Trios-2026.10.29
Photo Credit: Copyright ©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Location: Touchpool exhibit; Sea Life Aquarium; Concord, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Get Outdoors. Visit a museum or an aquarium. Take a Walk/Hike. Enjoy Nature’s Beauty. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
