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Project Noah Nature School
Tripneustes gratilla
Close-up ventral view of a black sea urchin, ~ 4 inches across, with short white spines.
Near shore tropical waters; coral reef ecosystem.
Spotted offshore of Leeward Oahu; location shown notional. Month and day notional; year is known with certainty. Image shows the bottom of the urchin, including its mouth--it spends its life "face down", except when someone turns it over. Original medium photoprint, taken with Nikonos III using flash and close-up kit; print subsequently scanned and image saved as digital file.
Spotted on May 15, 1983
Submitted on Dec 20, 2011
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