What 12-Inch-Long Sea Creature Can Kill a Huge Shark?

That bold act is accomplished by the sea hedgehog. Getting its name from the land hedgehog — a small insect-eating mammal with sharp spikes on its back, much like a porcupine — the sea hedgehog is a small, roundish sea creature related to the starfish.

It has spines on its skin that look like the hedgehog's spikes, and it uses these spines for the same reason — for protection against its enemies.

Because the sea hedgehog is small, it is sometimes swallowed by a shark. When the spiny creature reaches the shark's belly, it swells up with air like a balloon.

The points of its spines pierce the shark's stomach walls and rip a hole in it. The sea hedgehog can then swim out to safety through the hole, leaving the shark badly injured or even dead.

Although sea hedgehogs are rarely more than a foot long, they have been known to kill sharks more than 20 feet long!