What Do Sea Urchins Eat?
Gabriel Cooper 
The Eating Habits of Sea Urchins
Sea urchins are mainly herbivores that will eat anything that floats there way. Algae is mainly what sea urchins eat on a regular basis. The teeth of sea urchins are very sharp. In fact, so sharp that they can easily scrape rocks and grind plankton like it’s nothing. It is common for sea urchins to eat mussels, kelp, periwinkle, and even barnacles.
The eating habits of sea urchins is quite fascinating. Sea urchins are able to eat by using 5 teeth, their teeth are arranged in what looks like a circle, which is referred to as Aristotle’s lantern. Interestingly, there are some sea urchins that are said to be scavengers; they will eat dead sea animals, which essential means that they will eat meat. In general, sea urchins get hungry fast and need to eat a lot so that they can get the energy that they need. If they find little creatures on the algae or seaweed that they eat, then those creatures will be eaten by them as well. However, in general, they are herbivores and rarely if ever will consume meat or other animals. Silky Terrier Dog Breed Playing Around
Sea urchins eat kelp, algae, seaweed, coral, starfish, seagrass, brown algae, hair algae, bubble algae, coralline algae, fish, krill, red algae, snails, cyanobacteria, diatoms, and shrimp. Also, sea urchins can eat crabs, lionfish, clams, sand dollars, sea otters, oysters, scallops, sea stars, phytoplankton, anemones, abalone, zooxanthellae, zooplankton, copepods, limpets, bacteria, and sea lettuce.
Conclusions
The majority of sea urchins will mainly feed on algae, however, they are not likely to eat meat or other animals in water or on land. Sea urchins are primarily herbivores, which means that they have a vegetation diet and not one that consists of meat or even other animals. Also, keep in mind that there are some scavenger sea urchins that will eat dead animals or meat from time to time, so not all sea urchins are the same.
