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Purple sea urchin (Lat. Sphaerechinus granularis). Spread on a stone bottom 1-120 m deep. It can be found between algae and seagrass and in rock crevices. The diameter of the sleeve is up to 12 cm, spines 2 cm long, purple with a white tip. It often covers itself with morsels of algae and shell fragments. It grazes on algae, especially encrusting coralline algae seagrass blades and their epiphytic organisms and detritus. The gonads are edible. This urchin can tolerate temperatures of 41oC to 74oF (5oC-23.5oC).
Local name
Ljubičasti morski jež
English name
Purple sea urchin
Scientific name
Sphaerechinus granularis
Did you know?
It often covers itself with morsels of algae and shell fragments
Weight
-
Length
Up to 0.12 m
Life span
70 years
Nutrition
It grazes on algae, especially encrusting coralline algae seagrass blades and their epiphytic organisms and detritus
Type of diet
Detrivorous
IUCN vulnerability status
Not Evaluated (IUCN Red List)
Distribution
It is found in the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic Ocean, from the Channel Islands south to Cape Verde and the Gulf of Guinea