Discover

Today
Animals
Explore
Archive
Search

Use it

Classroom
Resources
Field lab
Quiz
Saved

Trust

Methodology
Sources
Corrections
Accessibility
Contributors

Details

About
Contact
Privacy
Terms
Newsletter

Animal profile

Purple Sea Urchin

Strongylocentrotus purpuratus

EchinoideaRocky intertidal and shallow subtidal zones of the north-east Pacific

Field profile

A vivid purple urchin about five to ten centimetres across, common in surge channels and kelp beds. It grazes algae and kelp with a five-toothed jaw apparatus. It is a long-established laboratory model whose genome was sequenced in 2006.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2023-07-08

Purple Sea Urchin

The purple sea urchin grinds hollows into solid rock

Using its five self-sharpening teeth and the abrasion of its spines, the urchin excavates a pit in stone and settles into it. In heavy-surf coastlines the pits accumulate until the rock surface is visibly pocked.

Read with evidence →

Purple Sea Urchin | Daily Animal Facts