Phalguni Ranjan
Phalguni Ranjan
( Temnopleurus toreumaticus )
You are likely to find them in numbers near coral rubble or seagrass meadows.
The black sea urchin with it's short spines are commonly spotted along the Indian coast. They can grow up to 4 - 6 cm in diameter, they have short black coloured spines of about 1 - 2 cm each with long transclucent feet that maybe longer than the spines themselves. You may also find a small little worm curled up around the mouth of the black sea urchin, this is the urchin mouth worm!
They feed on algae, other small invertebrates and planktonic matter.
Phalguni Ranjan
Karan Baath
( Echinometra mathaei )
You can find these species in and around coral reefs as deep as 100 m.
The burrowing urchin is a small species of sea urchin that grows to be a diameter of about 5 cm. They are always dark colured with green or purple spines that have white rings around the base of each spine. They are called the 'burrowing' sea urchin because of their trait of using their spines and teeth to burrow through the reef and dig itself into the resulting holes where it resides. In the absence of their predators which are mainly fish, the population of these species can increase which can damage the health of the coral reef.
They come out at night to feed on mainly algae.
Phalguni Ranjan
Phalguni Ranjan
( Echinostrephus molaris )
This small species of sea urchin can be found between the depths of 1-30 m in and around coral reefs.
Growing up to a max size of approximately 2 cm. They can be found in holes in the reef and also usually in groups around the same area. The unique feature of this species of urchin is their small size and fine spines, hence if you see a small sized urchin living in a hole around a reef you can bet it is going to be the needle spinned sea urchin.
They feed on algae, other small invertebrates and planktonic matter.
Joydeep Sarkar
( Astropyga radiata )
Found most commonly at depths between 10 -30 m in lagoons and areas where there is sand and rubble.
The radiant sea urchin is a quite large urchin with a maximum diameter reach of about 20 cm with spines growing to about 4 cm. The spines are placed around the circumference of the urchin while the centre region is without spines and displays blue dots along with colours ranging from brown, red and black. The shorter spines are venomous and can cause painful wounds. Several small invertebrates live in association with the radiant sea urchin such as some shrimp, crab and juvenile fish.
Diet consists of grazing on algae which it does at night.
Phalguni Ranjan
( Stomopneustes variolaris )
Spotted at depths between 1-10 m on coral reefs. You are likely to spot them under crevices and holes.
The long-spined sea urchin consists of spines growing up to about 10-12 cm in length with individuals growing up to 30 cm. They display a complete black colour with spines showing a creamy white to grey appearance. The long-spined sea urchins when in healthy populations promote the growth and development of the coral reef by grazing on algae that hinder their growth and are therefore, important species in maintaining balance in coral reef ecosystems.
They graze on algae that growth on corals, rubble and rock.