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A sea urchins mouth have lips of soft tissue that also have small bony pieces embedded inside. Their mouth is found on the underside part of the urchin (also called the oral side) They also have teeth. These teeth act like jaws. There are five teeth in most sea urchins and they are part of the organ called Aristotle's lantern. The Aristotle’s lantern is the organ that chews and ingests food. This complex structure is composed of five jaws made up of calcium plates. The plates are connected by muscles. Creatures use their Aristotle's lantern, or mouths, to scrape algae off rocks and other surfaces, as well as biting and chewing prey. References: https://www.thoughtco.com/aristotles-lan... https://askabiologist.asu.edu/sea-urchin... https://askabiologist.asu.edu/aristotles...
Found it laying in shallow water near the shoreline
4 Comments
I guess you are right @Machi, Thanks for letting me know. I'll be updating this spotting soon.
Definitely an urchin beak.
It could be the remains of a starfish or some kind of sea urchin, but I really have no clue otherwise.
I don't know what this is either but I sure do like your spotting.