This LMAC collage was inspired by a YouTube video of a sea urchin army:
I had studied @shaka's amazingly beautiful underwater photo.
@shaka's Photo
All @shaka's pictures are impressive but this one was perfect. I was bereft of ideas until I saw sea urchins consuming kelp. Sea urchins have very sharp teeth.
These teeth will never need the attention of a dentist. Despite the fact that urchins chomp on rocks and shells, their teeth never become dull. As a matter of fact, the more they chomp, the sharper the teeth get. As the teeth make contact with hard surfaces, material is selectively worn off. All the while the urchin's teeth continue to grow, so the lost material is perpetually replaced. Horatio Espinosa, of Northwestern University, compares it to sharpening a knife blade.
The urchin's five teeth work in unison and the jaw structure is referred to as Aristotle's Lantern. Aristotle described the mouth structure of the urchin as looking like a'"horn lantern'.
Do They Live Forever?
Almost. Urchins have one of the longest life spans on earth, some observers have suggest they may have the longest life span. They don't seem to suffer senescence. Even very old sea urchins can reproduce and show no signs of aging. Their lives are likely to end when they are eaten by a predator.
Unlike some animals (moths, for example), the sea urchin larval stage is very short.
Here's a YouTube video showing time-lapse larval development.
The larvae feed for about a month before becoming very small sea urchins. Sea urchins reproduce by releasing sperm and eggs into the water. While there are male and female sea urchins, no external sex organs distinguish the two. They look the same.
What do they eat?
Famously, they eat kelp. As a matter of fact, they eat so much kelp that, according to some California marine scientists,their appetite for this algae is endangering the survival of purple kelp in the Pacific.
However, sea urchins are omnivores that eat plant and animal matter alike. But as they eat, so are they eaten.
Sea Otter
Image credit: "Mike" Michael l. Baird. Used under CC 2.0 license
Sea Otters eat urchins, as do starfish, humans and the spiny lobster.
Sea Urchin Defense
Sea urchins use their spines to defend themselves. Wounds from these can be painful, or fatal. Some species of sea urchin are venomous and at least one, the flower sea urchin (Toxopneustidae) can be highly toxic.
Image credit: Samuel Chow. CC 2.0 license
Types of Sea Urchins
While I have written about spiny sea urchins, there are other types of urchins, including sand dollars and Spatangoida.
Eccenteric Sand Dollar
Image credit:D. Gordon E. Robertson CC 3.0 license
Spatangus Purpureus
Image credit: Rpillon CC 3.0
I'll end this excursion into the world of the sea urchin by linking to an amazing National Geographic video of a carrier crab, carrying a red sea urchin. Apparently this arrangement works for both species. The crab gets cover from the spiny sea urchin, and the sea urchin gets to move to new areas where it can feed and also reproduce.
Carrier Crab with Red Radiant Sea Urchin
Image credit: Sylke Rohrlach. CC BY-SA 2.0
My Collage
This collage went through so many interations (don't I always say that?). The artists in the #LMAC community have a strategic method. My method is completely intuitive. I start with an idea and then muddle along. Eventually the collage finds itself.
Here are a few steps from this week:
It began with a sea urchin, taken from Paint 3d that I warped with GIMP.
Then I went for hermit crabs, an octopus and sea urchin, also taken from Paint 3D :
Sea horses were part of the scene for a while, and there was a lot of warping (thank you, @quantumg) and rippling (using GIMP). Finally, as late night approached I thought of how @muelli uses drama in his collages. And of course, sea urchin teeth were uppermost in my mind. After many false starts, this happened:
I used the warp function on Gimp to create the explosive effect. I drew the teeth on the fish, once again by using GIMP. All elements in the collage, kelp,fish, sea urchins, came from Paint3D.
Thank you @shaka for the headache, for the hunting and thinking--a creative journey that always allows me to grow. I've looked at some of the other entries. What works of art this week. Truly inspired.
To my readers: please take a look at @shaka's blog for a creative feast. Join our growing LMAC community. We have the most congenial environment and a school with our brilliant teacher, @quantumg, who amazes me with his patience.
Very good imagination. I have had unpleasant experiences with sea urchins! 😖 The fish's teeth were left in terror, it looks like a piraña fish. Good luck in the contest! 👍
Thank you very much for those kind words. 🌷 I've never seen a sea urchin up close. I knew a nun once who had a run-in with a scorpion, but no sea urchins 😄
Never saw one of them either, in person, but many in the movies. Fierce :))
Where is your collage? You are such a good artist. Always turn in something well-wrought and well thought out.
... and something wonderful was created!
Great art, you Drama Queen! 🤣 😎
😁
You have been inspiring me since I first started with LMAC. I look at your collages and try to figure out why they are so effective. What do you do????
Then I realize: You're an artist. Of course :))
Thank you for the high praise. Makes me smile, a lot.
I´m not!
... maybe a survivor !? 😎
😄 Well, then, I declare you to be one.
I liked the animation of your collage. I still wish you luck in the contest
Thank you very much, @lisbethseijas! We had such a beautiful picture to start with. I couldn't think of how to modify it, so animation was the only thing that came to mind.
Very good luck to you, and thank you for coming by my blog.
Great piece of art and beautiful post 😍
You are very, very kind. That praise is much appreciated :)
guaooo me encanta @agmoore creo que los erizos me parecen uno de los animales marino muy interesantes al igual que sus compañeros de mar es totalmente increíble he interesante todo lo grande y hermosos que podemos encontrar en las aguas del mar y como dice mi amiga @dwixer no se trata de votación ni comentarios si lo que nos inspira a crear cada collage en el cual si lo aprecias bien encuentras las grandes historias que realzan cada uno de ellos
Thank you so much for that lovely compliment. Since I lack art skills, for me the experience of participating in LMAC is enriched by writing a blog that complements what I'm trying to achieve. It's wonderful that readers find the combination entertaining.
I appreciate your visit and wish you very good luck tonight!
This collage moves everywhere. There is a lot of life and colour. It is a very pleasant experience to look at. I think it is the hypnotic sensation produced by aquariums and fish tanks. This work is beautiful.
There is a resonance in it of scientific drawing (which fascinates me).
My theme this week is quite somber. Now I see the colourful collages of the others and I almost regret it.
By the way, I brought you a very curious and particular cousin of your toothfish:
Source
Ha ha ha. Those teeth! Exactly what I was going for :))
Thank you for the visit and your kind estimation of my lively collage. I had much trouble, and yet much fun, trying to get this effect. My greatest talent has always been determination. No matter how hard things get, I simply will not give up (that is true in life as well as in LMAC).
Hello friend, what a beautiful collage, good luck in the contest.
Thank you my friend for seeing beauty. I was stuck and tried for drama. The picture was already so beautiful.
The features you added are amazing, like the teeth you personally drew and the motion effects. Nice work
Thank you, my friend, but I truly think mine suffers from comparison with the others, including yours (yes, I've peeked but not yet voted and commented). Mine is a dramatic water show. Yours is art :)
Sometimes it's not about the comment or vote, but the spirit that stir one up into creating such a piece. You have a story to that, that I believe matter most
🌟🌟
The universe must love these creatures very much. It gave them such an interesting appearance and skills.
Thank you for this interesting edu-collage! :-)
The animation is great. I can imagine it was a lot of work.
Well done and good luck!
It was work, most of it disastrous, but in the end I was peaceful :))
You were there, as all teachers are when their lessons are put into action. Thank you for the kind assessment and for enjoying my blog. I"m a compulsive writer and researcher. Great to have an audience.
I forgot to mention something important: I loved your article on the urchin. All the videos are impressive. I was very impressed by the one on Monterrey Bay Aquarium.
Thank you my friend. I was impressed, also. Now I have an interest in sea animals. The more we know, the more we want to know :))