Velcro Teeth

A top-down photograph of a sea urchin. The image is dominated by a dense covering of pale, cream-colored spines that radiate outward from the center. In the very middle, a small, dark circular opening is visible, surrounded by shorter, more tightly packed spines. The depth of field is shallow, leaving the center in sharp focus while the outer edges of the urchin are softly blurred.

Label: Velcro Teeth
Artist: Nicole Morgan
Description: This macro shot of the mouth of a pencil urchin Sterocidaris nascaensis that was collected from 300 meters deep as part of an ecological survey in the South Pacific Ocean on the Salas y Gomez Ridge. Urchins eat algae and bacterial mats by scraping organic material off of rocks, pebbles, or even sand grains, which sounds like velcro when recorded underwater.
Type: DSLR
Artist Affiliation: Graduate Student
Department: EOAS
Area of Research: Biological Oceanography
Date: 2019