Name: Purple sea urchin
Scientific Name: Strongylocentrotus purpuratus
Family: Strongylocentrotidae
Group: Sea-stars, sea-urchins and sea-cucumbers
Class: Invertebrates
Size: 0-10 cm.
One of the characteristics that makes it possible for us to tell this urchin from the others is the fact that its spines are very short and purple. While young (up to 3 centimetres) their spines are green, but this colour wears off gradually, making the individuals of in-between age look striped. These urchins can dig holes in softer rocks like sandstone, using for that purpose their strong spines and their teeth. These teeth, which number 5, are organised in a complex structure called Aristotle's Lantern. They feed on algae.
Oceanário Location
Temperate Pacific
