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Sea urchins or urchins (/ ˈ ɜːr tʃ ɪ n z /) are typically spiny, globular animals, echinoderms in the class Echinoidea. About 950 species live on the seabed, inhabiting all oceans and depth zones from the intertidal to 5,000 metres (16,000 ft; 2,700 fathoms). [1]
Toxopneustes pileolus, commonly known as the flower urchin, is a widespread and commonly encountered species of sea urchin from the Indo-West Pacific.It is considered highly dangerous, as it is capable of delivering extremely painful and medically significant stings when touched.
Mespilia globulus, the globular sea urchin, sphere sea urchin, or tuxedo urchin (trade name), is a sea urchin occurring in tropical shallow reef habitats. [1] The specific name refers to a small ball or spherule, describing its overall shape/morphology. [1] It is the only species in the genus Mespilia. [2]
At any given moment, the team has 1,000 to 2,000 sea urchins in various stages of development. Hamdoun points to transgenic sea urchins his lab is raising at Scripps. (Sandy Huffaker / For The Times)
The green sea urchin occurs in tropical waters in the western Atlantic Ocean. The subspecies occupy different geographical areas. L. v. variegatus occurs in the Caribbean Sea, southern Florida, the Yucatán peninsula and northern Brazil but not Barbados while L. v. carolinus is found from North Carolina southwards to the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.
These sea urchins have a disc-like body, more or less bulging, structured by a flexible test, which is nearly unique among sea urchins. Most species can grow quite big and live in deep seas, though some genera contain shallow species (especially Asthenosoma). [1] The test is composed of thin and weakly calcified plates, not always continuous.
These days, long-spined sea urchins are known as the gardeners of the sea. They tend the algae on the coral reefs they call home, making sure it never overwhelms their hosts. Spotting one on the ...
Last year, sea urchins in the Caribbean started getting sick — shedding their spines, dying off and throwing reef ecosystems into chaos. “The case is closed,” said study author Mya Breitbart ...