An unexpected guest will appear to us in the Haifa Sea
After the previous "offerings" that came to us from the Red Sea, which we discussed in the last articles - The wandering thread and the radiating glow, now another animal came to us, unnamed and quite problematic. The name of the "production" in question - "A long-thorned nun"And in his foreign name"diadem".
His name was inspired by the diadem incident from the time of the Roman Empire, when Marcus Antonius offered Julius Caesar a tiara and while the crowd cheered, Julius Caesar refused to accept the offer (as a joke - he may have understood what the diadem was).
"Tell me, are you from Eilat?"
The diadem is familiar to us from the tropical sea and is notorious in our country, especially from the Ailetian sea. This is a large sea urchin, its spines up to 35 cm long. The injury of the urchin is bad - its spines are fragile and cause great pain. The spine remains embedded in the injured flesh for some time, from several days to a period of a month, when the site of injury remains sensitive to touch. This is of course individual , depending on the sensitivity of the victim.
Do not try to pull out the thorns!
It is important to say that you should not try to remove the spines of the sea urchin in any way. First of all, because this is impossible - the spikes are unidirectional, like a kind of "dowel" of a screw, and probing the damaged place will only push them deeper and may even cause infection. The right thing to do in case you are injured is to get out of the water and soak the area in hot water, as is customary with other injuries from marine animals (but not in the case of a jellyfish sting and members of the stingray family, in this situation, the change in temperature will only worsen the injury, as we mentioned in the article about jellyfish). The thorn will disintegrate on its own over time.
"I will sit in the dark..."
The sea urchin is usually active at dusk, therefore, during the day (as well as in Eilat), you can see them among the rock grasshoppers, in relatively shaded areas. The sea urchin is considered a fast-moving animal. When it senses danger, it is able to escape with quite impressive speed. One His enemies, at least according to my observations in the Red Sea, are fish the scion, Able to handle the long spines of the hedgehog - the woodpecker quickly cuts the spines with its huge teeth, just like a lawnmower, and then devours its contents.
loves rocks
In this case, I found a detail of a diadem among the breakwater rocks of Meridian Beach in Haifa. The individual I photographed is a young individual. He feeds through his mouth, called - "Aristotle's lantern due to its special shape. Although this individual was found by me when he was alone, but of course, we have to assume that he was not created out of nothing, so it must be taken into account that he has partners in the environment.
Luckily for us, Meridian Beach is surrounded by a row of buoys and access to the breakwater is prohibited. The sea urchin, as mentioned, likes rocks, so in the sandy bathing area, we will not find it.
"First time at sea?"
This is indeed a discovery that the diadem reached the Mediterranean Sea. And why do I say this is a discovery? During my dives, countless over the years on the beaches of Haifa, this is it The first time I encountered a diadem! The natural place of this diadem is the Red Sea, where we will find them in masses. It is possible that they also arrived here some time ago, but only now have they begun to reveal themselves.
Immigrants from the Red Sea
Although final sea migrants are not welcome on our shores, as they cause ecological changes, its presence here can certainly be seen as positive and optimistic evidence: we know that sea urchins are sensitive to pollution, so if it survives here (according to its age it can be said that it has been here for a while ), this is a significant indication for us that the sea is clean.
Give them the respect
Although this hedgehog is prickly and it is highly recommended not to encounter its sting, it, as well as the infamous jellyfish, are beautiful animals and very essential to the ecosystem and we must give them the respect they deserve as wonderful creatures of nature.
And a small gift from me for Saturday: a photo from the morning (Friday 2/7/21), a carpet of the Dunga sea lily, also from Meridian Beach:
The sea urchin is very tasty in the oven. Cut the thorns if you want. If you don't cut the belly, fill it with pine nuts. rice and more. dips Put in the oven, do not cook. And not on the fire, it is served to the table. The stomach is filled and this delicious content is eaten with a spoon. Hats will go out of the standard. Sea urchin is a delicacy. Not on fire. Not cooking. in the oven like a roast chicken. But tastier. successfully. Watch out for the thorns. They are toxic, so you should chop them beforehand. good luck Also be careful with the types of sea urchins. Of course, even if you see Avnon, don't touch it. Surely they will also come to Haifa, they just love the mayor.
Yes A
Indeed so. There were dozens of hedgehogs in a variety of colors, in concentrations.
The diadem then is still still in the Red Sea.
Just to make you happy... Some sea urchins have returned to Haifa, and are marked on my maps. So maybe we can enjoy their beauty.
The story about the sea urchins on the beaches of Haifa moved me very much. In my time Shikmona was full of original sea urchins, not Red Sea imports. From the end of the 80s until today, I have not been able to see sea urchins in Shikmona. Those interested in more details are welcome to send an email to:
[email protected]
Excellent report, thank you very much.
I encountered them both in Ashdod and in Tel Aviv
To the commenter Yehezkel, if you suffer from a lack of judgment, there is no need to offend the rest of Motti Mendelson's articles. They are understandable even for non-biologists.
The sea urchins are not dangerous. The perverts at sea are dangerous. Do articles about them too. Perverted men who harass women on the beaches and do nothing to them. Write about the real things and not about nonsense.
Hello Moshe
I have to disagree with your statement. It is an invasive species, not the Mediterranean sea urchin you are familiar with, but a final sea diadem with particularly long and fragile spines. Injury from it is accompanied by extremely intense pain, and if the injury to the leg is lame for some time. Besides, it violates the ecological balance of the beaches The Mediterranean Sea in Israel
The hedgehog is harmless
looks scary
But very interesting
A few decades ago, even our Mediterranean coasts were dotted with sea urchins with shorter spines and purple and green shades, and probably due to the increase in water temperature, they have almost completely disappeared and occasionally you find a few urchins hiding among the rocks.
Your description and explanation are beautiful and dead, thank you
Thanks Poppy
Hello fan.
There were indeed a lot of urchins, but not a definitive sea urchin. She invades
There are no words - many thanks for your articles - lots of health and patience
Thank you very much to all the readers.
I am obliged to report on dangerous animals but... the underwater wealth is so great, that I am not enough to associate them.
Hi Pozmac
I do fly on the sea urchin hahaha. This is not a joke, I flew once
I saw such a hedgehog on the shores of Shkoma thirty years ago
I forgot the name of the rocky part covered in water at the beginning of the beach.
There were also sea cucumbers and a glass worm.
We found them and more as part of an activity of the biological institute
I reinforce my words Ohad was also common in the breakwater of the Carmel beach Meridian Thanks for the interesting article
A very interesting and informative article! Thank you!
Thank you!
It was very interesting, the information is useful and the writing is wonderful!
I'm glad to see that there are real articles here among all the garbage that is published here sometimes!
Stunning
With all due respect, the hedgehog was very common in the Shikmona area about 25 years ago. Over the years it has completely disappeared.
Its reappearance is actually a happy sight and indicates a good ecological situation!
Dear Moti,
As usual, a wise article.
You are one of the humblest people I have ever known and you really don't get carried away.
While your articles teach and expand the knowledge of the general public, it turns out that they hurt people and cause narrow eyes.
Keep exploring and bring us your nature stories.
In Vienna, if you were a pilot I would say you fly on your own.
Dear Motti, great article, I learn a lot from you, bless you dear man ♥️??
Thank you
I enjoyed reading
Good morning and Shabbat Shalom.
Fish and sea animals that came to us from the Red Sea???. Sharks and jellyfish. sea urchins and sea urchins.?? To the Mediterranean Sea.
and lack of sand and depressions on the beach. why. ??????
Is the change in the Suez Canal. He causes
Is the Ethiopian dam the cause.
My friend Motti Mendelson is beautiful, a diving researcher, underwater photography. For the impressive articles. Shabbat Shalom.
I enjoyed reading. Very informative article.