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Urchin ID? Sanibel Island, Florida (1 Viewer)

Daddylion

The Daddy Lion
Found this guy washed up and was wondering what species it was (is there even more than one species of urchin? I figure there must be.)

Thanks.
 

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Found this guy washed up and was wondering what species it was (is there even more than one species of urchin? I figure there must be.)

Thanks.


There are thousands of species of urchin - which is unfortunately why I can't answer your question! ;) If you can get hold of a copy of Humann and DeLoach's Reef Critters guide (there may well be a copy in a nearby public library) that may well hold the answer.
 
That looks like a Purple Sea Urchin (aka Brown Rock Urchin), Arbacia punctulata. There are around 800 living species in the Class Echinoidea, which includes the cake urchins, sand dollars, and such, as well as the typical urchins.

[Edit: Posted simultaneously w/ Isurus, not in reply.]

Will
 
Last edited:
That looks like a Purple Sea Urchin (aka Brown Rock Urchin), Arbacia punctulata. There are around 800 living species in the Class Echinoidea, which includes the cake urchins, sand dollars, and such, as well as the typical urchins.

[Edit: Posted simultaneously w/ Isurus, not in reply.]

Will


Wow - I guessed (without bothering to do any research to back it up) it would be much more than that - in the range of 2-3,000. You learn something every day!
 
I was just wondering cos I'd never heard of different species of urchin. This is the first time I've ever seen a sea urchin, so it was pretty cool for me.

Thanks,
 
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