Yesterday I posted a blog entitled “Roaming the Outer Banks” and I included some photos of my trip. One of those photos was of a “Mermaid’s Purse”, which was identified by someone who read my post. (Thank you, Joy, for identifying this photo!)
I’d never heard of this before, so I “googled” it.
According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_case_(Chondrichthyes):
An egg case or egg capsule, colloquially known as a mermaid’s purse or devil’s purse, is a casing that surrounds the fertilized eggs of some sharks, skates, and chimaeras. They are among the common objects which are washed up by the sea. They are made of collagen protein strands. [1] Because they are lightweight, they are often found at the strandline, the farthest point of the high tide. The egg cases that wash up on beaches are usually empty, the young fish having already hatched out. Furthermore, egg cases are often found in commercial fishing gears like nets and pots, and on the sea floor during surveys using an ROV.
Pretty interesting… It just goes to show that you can learn something new every day!
