A vocabulary of landscape — a landscape of words
1367 entries
mermaid’s purse
A mermaid’s purse is the egg case of a skate, ray, or shark, a tough leathery rectangular pouch with a curling tendril at each corner. The tendrils wrap around weed or catch on the bottom and hold the case still while the embryo develops inside, which can take many months. Empty cases wash up on beaches by the thousand, and the shape identifies the species that laid it.
Etymology
The English name is folk and old, and the same case has also been called a devil’s purse and, in Scotland, a witch’s purse or a sailor’s purse. The purse is the right comparison: The case really does look like a small flat leather wallet with drawstrings at the corners.