268 EDIBLE BRITISH MOLLUSCA. 



FAM. CIDAKID^E. 



ECHINUS. SEA EGG. 



ECHINUS SPH^RA, Miiller. Common Sea- egg, or Sea- 

 urchin. A wish has been expressed that I should in- 

 . elude the " Sea-egg " in my ' Edible Mollusca/ but I 

 scarcely feel justified in doing so, as it is not a moll-ask, 

 and has no other claim to appear on these pages further 

 than its being fit for food. 



It belongs to another class of animals, the Radiata, or 

 Erliinodermata, which includes the star- fishes, and the 

 HolothuriadcR. The Radlata are so called because all 

 their parts radiate from a common centre. 



Echinus sphcera is generally of a reddish colour, or 

 purplish, and has white spines, in some tinged with 

 purple. 



Pliny states that the Sea-urchin moves along by 

 rolling like a ball, which is the reason that it is so 

 often found with the prickles rubbed off ; also " that 

 these creatures foreknow the approach of a storm at 

 sea, and that they take up little stones with which 

 they cover themselves, as a sort of ballnst ; for they 

 are very unwilling, by rolling along, to wear away 

 their prickles. As soon as seafaring people observe 

 this, they at once moor their ship with several 

 anchors,"* and we are told that the natives of Apia 

 Tali Upolu (Samoa), say they can foretell a storm 

 before its appearance, by noticing the Echini crawling 

 into snug holes, where they may lie secure on the 

 reefs, undisturbed by the raging waters. " The sea 

 roars, and the Echini listen," is the Samoan proverb to 



* Pliny, ' Nat. Hist.' vol. ii. bk. ix. c. 51, p. 427. 



