Beach find in Devon

Found this amongst the flotsam yesterday on a beach in Devon.

It's hollow and feels very light, like a cuttlefish.

Any ideas?

R

Urchin?

Urchin?

That was my guess too, but what type I wonder? Plus, I've never seen one before on the beach - and I do a lot of beach-combing!

R

I think it is a Spatangoida. In German its called "Herzigel" look at Wiki.

This is a heart urchin or sea potato - a sand dweller which normally ploughs through the sand and can often be located by the furrow it leaves behind. Picton's book shows 5 different shallow water heart urchins from the UK, the commonest of which is Echinocardium cordatum, with a further two Echinocardium species and two others. Of these I'd say this one probably is cordatum going by the illustrations that I can find. I see them quite regularly in Cardigan Bay in Wales and they sometimes get caught out by storms and washed up. As the 'test', as theis chalky shell-like skeleton is known, is very fragile they don't often make it onto the strandline intact.

We get them down here Ralph, have collected a few of the 'shells' - have even seen them alive one one occasion.

Nice find though they are very fragile, so don't sneeze on it.

Paul C

Thank you, one and all!

R