Polished Sea Urchin (10 mill. years old)
(This is in the Fossils box)
Can you answer the questions below by spinning this image and using the extra pictures?
Extra information and pictures
Questions
1. What has polishing helped to reveal in this fossil?
2. Like a lot of other sea creatures, Sea Urchins have a solid outer body called an ‘exoskeleton’. Why is this a good thing to have?
3. Look at the pattern on the top of the shell. Can you work out which other modern sea creature the Sea Urchin was related to?
Answers down here - no peeking until you're ready!
1. What has polishing helped to reveal in this fossil?
ANSWER: The separate parts of the Sea Urchin’s body.
2. Like a lot of other sea creatures, Sea Urchins have a solid outer body called an ‘exoskeleton’. Why is this a good thing to have?
ANSWER: It protects them from predators.
3. Look at the pattern on the top of the shell. Can you work out which other modern sea creature the Sea Urchin was related to?
ANSWER: The starfish is the most obvious one, which belongs to the same family called ‘Echinoids’.