Theyre often called the porcupines of the sea because of their long spines that deter hungry predators.
BiologistMorgan Kesterrecentlysharedthis discovery on social media.
She posted photos of the dapper-looking sea urchins wearing 3D-printed cowboy hats, top hats, and fedoras.
Photo:Stock Photosfrom Brandon B/Shutterstock
The sea urchins not only look stylish, but the hats also help to keep them safe.
The extra coverage is also thought to protect sea urchins from predators and UV rays.
One person that created hats for sea urchins is RedditorVanillaBean5813.
After testing several hat styles, they settled on a wide-brimmed design.
We went through a few iterations of hats, they recall.
We learned that hollow structures were too floaty and that caused them to lose the witches hat we made.
Another person known as Riosouza on theReed2Reef forumhas also been making hats specially for sea urchins.
Which leads me to the conclusion they certainly use it against excessive UV rays.
Check out photos of the hat-wearing sea urchins below.
