Described as a saltwater Swallows and Amazons, it was shot on the Mahurangi Peninsula in the Hauraki Gulf, where the plucky “urchins” stumble on villanious plots from missing treasure to wildlife smuggling while holidaying with their uncle.
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They are known to frequently eat large whelks (Buccinum), cockles (Polynices, Chrysodomus and Sipho), sea clams (Mactra), large hermit crabs, starfish, sea urchins and green crabs (Carcinus maenas).
This work, carried out with rabbits, influenced Theodor Ludwig Wilhelm Bischoff's theories concerning fertilisation, but it was not until 1876 that Oscar Hertwig, working with sea urchins, described the fusion of sperm and egg to form a new structure.
However, the great majority of species died out during the Mesozoic, as the more advanced euechinoid sea urchins became common.
Females focussed on soft-bodied prey which they could swallow whole such as fish, crabs, bluebottle jellyfish and various worm-like creatures such as cunjevoi, while males preferred hard-shelled prey such as mussels (Mytilus planulatus), sea urchins, turban shells (Turbo undulatus and Turbo torquata), and black periwinkle (Nerita atramentosa).
These include bivalves and other molluscs, polychaete worms, amphipods and juvenile fish which hide among the leaf blades, sea urchins, crabs and caridean shrimps.