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The name urchin is an old word for hedgehog, which sea urchins resemble; they have archaically been called sea hedgehogs. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] The name is derived from the Old French herichun , from Latin ericius ('hedgehog').
The Diadematidae are a family of sea urchins. Their tests are either rigid or flexible and their spines are long and hollow. [2] Astropyga Gray, 1825 Astropyga radiata (Leske, 1778), extant; Astropyga pulvinata (Lamarck, 1816), extant; Astropyga magnifica (Clark, 1934), extant; Centrostephanus Peters, 1855 Centrostephanus asteriscus (Agassiz ...
It is one of the most abundant, widespread, and ecologically important shallow water genera of tropical sea urchins. It is found in all tropical oceans, although is ubiquitous in the Indo-Pacific region, where it inhabits depths down to 70 m. However each species inhabits roughly separate areas of ocean. Long-spined urchins Diadema, London Zoo.
It is a medium-sized sea urchin, characterized by its deep black color and its hemispherical shape. All of its spines are roughly the same size (no "secondary spines"), and worn erected (never dishevelled when in the water). The anus on the top is surrounded by four plates forming an anal valve.
Its range extends from the Mediterranean Sea and North African coast to the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. [1] The depth range is between 40 and 210 metres (130 and 690 ft). Off Florida this urchin is usually found on algae or on broken coral substrates , particularly the rubble remains of dead ivory bush coral ( Oculina varicosa ).
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Diadema antillarum has a "shell," similar to most other sea urchins. What distinguishes the Diadema is the length of its spines. Most sea urchin spines are 1–3 cm, but the spines in this species are usually 10–12 cm in length, and can grow as long as 30 cm in very large individuals.
For marine scientists, it was deja vu: Another die-off swept through the region in the 1980s and slashed sea urchin populations by around 98%. Mystery solved: Scientists ID Caribbean sea urchin killer