Sea Urchin Eggs

This is a light microscope photograph of sea urchin eggs after they have been fertilized. You can see the eggs surrounded by a layer, called the jelly layer. The light dots are the sperm. The eggs look blue in color, because of the microscope light. Photo courtesy of Doug Chandler.

These are baby sea urchins called juveniles. Adult S. purpuratus grow as big as a human fist. (photo courtesy of Nancy Mozingo)