Sea Urchins Experience

I remember the unforgettable moment with sea urchin at the age of 5:
(I can still walk well back then) I didn't know red sea urchin are painful, they look so attractive, I was already warned by my parents not to step or go near them... I tried to avoid them but I didn't notice, when we were just sitting around the big stones I step on a small red sea urchin.

I can never forget that pain - from the bottom of my foot up to my ankle, I just went crying and my male cousins was shocked why am I crying, they carried me away from the big stones, then at the seashore they checked my feet, they found 1 pc of red spine stuck at my right foot, near the ankle, automatically one of my male cousin pee in that area, (I know it sound ridiculous but, that is how the provincial first aid medicine works LOL) and they carried me to my dad, he took a tweezers to pick out the spine, still I didn't feel any relief, the pain was still there, and after some hours it felt a bit numb.

Anyway, here is a video about Sea Urchin:

So the one that stung me?

Number 10. Some hang around for a long time. The red variety can live for about 200 years, making them among the longest lasting creatures on Earth.

I guess that sea urchin that stung me is still alive up to now!
oh well I do hope not to be stung by it anymore!

Now for the one I saw recently at Samalan Camp and Sea are the big black with a very long spine, snorkelling at around 10 to 15 ft. deep (^_^)

Diadema antillarum, also known as the lime urchin, black sea urchin, Grabaskey's bane or the long-spined sea urchin,[2] is a species of sea urchin in the Family Diadematidae.

This sea urchin is characterized by its exceptionally long black spines.

It is the most abundant and important herbivore on the coral reefs of the western Atlantic and Caribbean basin. When the population of these sea urchins is at a healthy level, they are the main grazers which prevent algae overgrowth of the reef.

Diadema antillarum has a test, or "shell," similar to most other sea urchins. What distinguishes the Diadema is the length of its spines. Most sea urchin spines are 1–3 cm, but the spines in this species are usually 10–12 cm in length, and can grow as long as 30 cm in very large individuals.

This species usually lives at 1–10 metres in depth on coral reefs. They will often lodge themselves in a crevice, so that only their spines can be seen, but individual urchins who can't find a suitable crevice will live in more exposed situations. Individuals that have been able to find a crevice usually will roam about one metre from their crevice at night during feeding. Diadema is very sensitive to light, and will often pick its crevice or resting place based on how much shade there is.

Diadema mostly eat algae, and sometimes seagrass. Starving urchins have been known to become carnivorous.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diadema_antillarum

wow! (^_^)