Dr. John Turnbull, Marine Explorer, Australien
Info
(Bell, 1884)
The sea urchin Temnopleurus alexandri comes in a fairly wide range of colors from green, purple and white, the spines of the hedgehog even go one better, they vary from the base of the shell (inner skeleton) to the white tips in a color combination of green and purple, purple / white, white / reddish brown, green and brown.
The spines of the sea urchin have several very useful functions for the animal:
- they protect the animal from predators, and the hedgehog does not have to “hole up” to do this
- they support the hedgehog's pseudopodia (false feet) during locomotion
- large quantities of food particles regularly get caught in the spines
- they offer active resistance to the water current
Other sea urchins, such as leatherback sea urchins, even have poison bladders on their spines!
Sea urchins have two different types of spines, the spines on the oral axis of the shell are spatula-shaped, while those on the aboral side (the side facing the gut) taper towards the tip.
The mouth of the sea urchin is located in the middle under the round body and has five tooth-like plates for feeding.
The shell of the hedgehog can reach a diameter of up to 8.6 cm and has a conical shape.
Interestingly, the spines are all the same length and can regenerate after injury/breakage, reaching a maximum length of 1.2 cm.
Sea urchins “see” with their pseudopodia, on the foot processes and in pits on the hard surface of the animal.
lassification: Biota > Animalia (Kingdom) > Echinodermata (Phylum) > Echinozoa (Subphylum) > Echinoidea (Class) > Euechinoidea (Subclass) > Carinacea (Infraclass) > Echinacea (Superorder) > Camarodonta (Order) > Temnopleuridea (Infraorder) > Temnopleuridae (Family) > Temnopleurus (Genus) > Temnopleurus alexandri (Species)
The sea urchin Temnopleurus alexandri comes in a fairly wide range of colors from green, purple and white, the spines of the hedgehog even go one better, they vary from the base of the shell (inner skeleton) to the white tips in a color combination of green and purple, purple / white, white / reddish brown, green and brown.
The spines of the sea urchin have several very useful functions for the animal:
- they protect the animal from predators, and the hedgehog does not have to “hole up” to do this
- they support the hedgehog's pseudopodia (false feet) during locomotion
- large quantities of food particles regularly get caught in the spines
- they offer active resistance to the water current
Other sea urchins, such as leatherback sea urchins, even have poison bladders on their spines!
Sea urchins have two different types of spines, the spines on the oral axis of the shell are spatula-shaped, while those on the aboral side (the side facing the gut) taper towards the tip.
The mouth of the sea urchin is located in the middle under the round body and has five tooth-like plates for feeding.
The shell of the hedgehog can reach a diameter of up to 8.6 cm and has a conical shape.
Interestingly, the spines are all the same length and can regenerate after injury/breakage, reaching a maximum length of 1.2 cm.
Sea urchins “see” with their pseudopodia, on the foot processes and in pits on the hard surface of the animal.
lassification: Biota > Animalia (Kingdom) > Echinodermata (Phylum) > Echinozoa (Subphylum) > Echinoidea (Class) > Euechinoidea (Subclass) > Carinacea (Infraclass) > Echinacea (Superorder) > Camarodonta (Order) > Temnopleuridea (Infraorder) > Temnopleuridae (Family) > Temnopleurus (Genus) > Temnopleurus alexandri (Species)
